Noble Students Rally Around Family In Need

<p>A young boy in Noble has beaten all the odds and is surviving despite a terminal illness, and a small school in his hometown is trying to raise money to help keep him and his family going.</p>

Sunday, March 13th 2016, 11:02 pm

By: News 9


A young boy in Noble has beaten all the odds and is surviving despite a terminal illness, and a small school in his hometown is trying to raise money to help keep him and his family going.

Noble is not a very big town, and to raise $35,000 is a big goal.

However, that's what students have been working hard to do all week for a program called SHOUT, and it stands for students helping others unite together.

Jumping and laughing are things all children should have the privilege of doing, but not all are given that opportunity in life. Kids in Noble are doing so for one who can't.

"We just noticed that he wasn't meeting his milestones like he should,” Amanda Chaffin said.

Rolling over, eating and looking back now even in the womb, his mother said little Kayden was different. He may not have hit all the childhood milestones like most kids his age, but he's surpassed the biggest milestone of all for children with his condition.

"The neurologist comes in and says, 'Your son has SMA type 1. Go home and love him. He won't see his first birthday. 90 percent don't see their second,’" Chaffin said.

But Kayden is getting ready to turn 3 years old.

"To know that we have a time limit put on our child and knowing that we might not have years with him, and we've gotten them,” she said.

Kayden's condition is spinal muscular atrophy. It's a genetic disease, and it's terminal.

And they've also got the support of the entire school in their hometown.

Both Amanda and her husband Josh Chaffin grew up in Noble. They were high school sweethearts. 

For the past several years, Noble Public Schools has raised money for someone in the community who's in need and usually with a severe medical diagnosis.

This year they chose Kayden. Their  goal is to raise $35,000 to help with expenses.

"We treasure every minute we have with him, because we do have little hiccups where he does stop breathing,” Chaffin said.

Kayden's nonverbal. He used to be able to smile. However, the disease took that, too. But there's one thing it can’t take; the loving support of his community and the time with his family nobody thought they would get.

"We've been blessed with three wonderful years with him,” Chaffin said.

Click here if you’d like to help the Chaffin family.

Click here to learn about Noble High School's SHOUT Week.

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