Chelsea schools spread awareness about local boy’s fight with terminal disease

The crowd cheered as 8-year-old Gabe Griffin walked on the field with his brother, Turner, for the coin toss. It was a special night for Gabe, as not only was he sporting Turner’s jersey number — 14 — he was taking the field with one of his heroes.

But for the crowd that gathered to watch the Chelsea Middle School seventh-grade football team play its final game of the season, it was Gabe who was acting as the hero.

Hope for Gabe nights were recently held at Chelsea Middle (CMS) and Chelsea High Schools (CHS) in support of Gabe and his fight. Gabe suffers from Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the No. 1 genetic terminal disease among boys. 

“It will eventually affect his ability to walk, run, hug, eat and even breathe,” his mother, Traci Griffin, said. 

Although he looks normal today, by age 12 Gabe will be in a wheelchair, and he might not live to see his 20s if a cure isn’t found. Griffin and her husband founded the Hope for Gabe Foundation to raise money for finding that cure, and the Chelsea community has stepped up to help.

Griffin said CMS recently participated in Shelby County’s Red Ribbon Week, and students dressed up each day at school to show their stand against drugs. For Superhero Day, more than 80 students wore their Hope for Gabe shirts instead of choosing to dress as comic book heroes.

“The response was unbelievable,” Griffin said. “Some kids even made capes out of their red Hope for Gabe shirts and painted their superhero costumes with ‘H4G’ on the front. What these kids are doing for this little boy is something that cannot be taught in schools.”

Griffin said she is thankful to the students, as well as coach Jason Berryhill, coach Richard Powers and the seventh- and eighth-grade CMS football players for their support and kind gestures toward Gabe. 

But the community didn’t stop there. Invited by head football coach Chris Elmore, Gabe and his parents had an opportunity to come speak to the Chelsea High School football team after football practice about Hope for Gabe. Coaches introduced Gabe to the players, and then Scott, Gabe’s father, spoke to the team.

“He spoke about adversity, being appreciative of their God-given abilities, being a role model for younger children, and not complaining about having to work hard on the football field because there are many kids who will never get that opportunity,” Griffin said. “Gabe Griffin is one of those kids.”  

Gabe and his family made such an impact on coach Elmore and the team they were invited to stand on the sidelines of the Chelsea vs. Oak Mountain game, run the team out on the field, and participate in the coin toss.

CHS sold royal blue H4G shirts that read “Hornets for Gabe,” and players wore their shirts to school that game day instead of their jerseys to spread awareness.

At the game, an announcement was made that one in every 3,500 boys are born with Duchenne, and donation buckets were passed around on both sides of the stadium

“A group of Chelsea middle school boys volunteered to go into the stands to collect the donations, and they raised $841 in about 10 minutes,” Griffin said.

For more on Gabe’s journey and the Griffins’ efforts to find a cure Duchenne, visit hopeforgabe.org.