
Gavin Scott Myers - Memorial Donations
(Donation form at bottom of page)
Gavin Scott was born on August 30, 2010. He was 35 weeks gestation. This is HIS story.
On August 28th, 2010, my wife noticed that our baby hadn't moved for about a day or so. She was 35 weeks along and miserable as ever. We called the doctor and they told us to come down to the hospital to get checked out. So we went to Labor and Delivery and had 4 or 5 different ultrasounds confirming that the baby's heart wasn't beating. This was utterly devastating to us as we had been waiting for 35 weeks to meet our son. Due to overwhelming emotions, we elected to go home that day and come back the next day to start the labor process.
Sunday, August 29th, aka my wife's birthday... we went into the hospital. At 9am, she was started on oxytocin to help induce
labor. To spare the details, Gavin Scott was delivered the next morning, August 30th, 2010 at 12:11am. He weighed 5 lbs. 13 oz. and was 20 and 1/2 inches long. This was a happy and a very sad time for us as our son was a stillborn. The hospital was awesome, as we got to spend the next 14 hours with him resting and spending quality time with our son. A professional photographer was brought into our room at 2am in the morning and volunteered his time to take some pictures for us (which were free for us), we got professional molds of his hands and feet (free for us), etc. Everybody was so nice to us. We invited our family to the hospital at 2am in the morning as well to meet our little guy and take some family photos.
The next afternoon, after only two hours of rest, we said our goodbyes and left the hospital. Due to the fact that Gavin was so far along, we had to have a funeral home come pick him up from the hospital and do a graveside service. For my first daughter's birth, I wanted to build her something special, so I built her a toy box. I wanted to do something special for Gavin, so I elected to build him his casket. I had a TON of help from my brothers and dad and the rest of my family. It turned out beautiful and perfect just like Gavin was.
The following Friday, we held a graveside service at the Meridian Idaho cemetery which was so emotional and difficult, but wonderful at the same time. I knew that Gavin would be forever protected in a casket that I built him. We had a short graveside service, and then I got to place the casket down in his grave. I participated anywhere I could along this journey because I wanted to make sure he was taken care of and alright. I guess that's the protective father in me. The funeral home did not charge for any of their services for a stillborn baby, so we saved about $3,000. This was a HUGE help at this time.
We also created Gavin's Gifts Charity to honor our special son and to help other people in similar situations. As mentioned, I built his casket and it turned out beautiful. We wanted to be able to build caskets for stillborn children and give them away to the family free of charge. We felt like this was a special quiet way that we could help out.
Parents always want the best for their child, even if we have to bury one sometimes. I love my son Gavin very much and am very excited to meet him in the life to come.
H.E.A.R.T.strings - Legacy Fund
All money raised will be for the H.E.A.R.T.strings Legacy Fund and will not only help us provide resources and bereavement support, but will also help you to "Let Your Love Glow" as you become a light for other bereaved parents. For more information about the H.E.A.R.T.strings Perinatal Bereavement fund, click here.