My son Gavin Garcia was born with chronic asthma, and before the age of five, he had already been admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) four times, the last time being in 2019. I was always vigilant, managing his asthma with medication and regular doctor visits, and I knew what to look for to keep him safe. There were a couple of close calls, but I was always able to control his symptoms with oxygen, treatments, and medication.

But on March 12th, everything changed. There were no warning signs this time. The school nurse called to say Gavin had no fever, just a little wheezing and that he didn’t feel well, so his dad picked him up from school. On the way home, his father called me and told me to get the machine ready. As Gavin sat with the nebulizer, I saw something in his eyes that made me panic. I asked if he wanted to go to the hospital, and he nodded yes. I called his father, then 911. By the time the ambulance arrived, Gavin wasn’t breathing and his heart had stopped. They worked on him for 20 minutes before getting a pulse, but as we arrived at the emergency room, his heart stopped again. The doctors worked tirelessly to stabilize him, but because his brain had gone without oxygen for so long, he was declared brain dead.

Our family is broken by the loss of our son. We are asking for help to put him to rest. Thank you for taking the time to read our story. If you are unable to donate, we just ask that you pray for our family—especially his sister Kayla and brother Gabriel—to give them strength during this incredibly difficult time.