‘Great cause’: The story behind Lincoln senior Gavin Trent’s toy drive for Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital

CAMBRIDGE CITY, Ind. — Growing up, Lincoln senior Gavin Trent’s favorite toys to get for Christmas were WWE action figures. For his mom, Ashley Trent, it was My Little Pony. And his dad, Chris Trent, wanted everything Nerf.

It wouldn’t have taken them long to revisit some of those childhood memories in the overflowing boxes just outside Lincoln’s gym Dec. 9, boxes filled with all sorts of donated toys for Gavin Trent’s toy drive to benefit the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital. They were full before his basketball game even started, and he was overwhelmed by the support.

“I expected some toys, but I didn’t expect the amount people have contributed,” Trent said. “To me, it’s mind-blowing. It’s crazy how much one little flyer and a tweet here and there will get everybody together to help a great cause.”

The root of that flyer, those tweets and this great cause goes back about six years to when Trent was in middle school.

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Trent was always moving. Just like now, he was a three-sport athlete growing up. He would get “dog tired” easily and voluntarily go to bed earlier than you’d expect most kids that age. He and his parents thought nothing of it, assuming it was from how active he was in athletics.

One day in the middle of basketball season, Trent got an earache. It was just bad enough where his parents took him to the local doctor’s office. During his examination, the doctor thought his blood pressure was off, so they sent him to the hospital to make sure it was nothing serious. What Trent soon found out immediately ended his basketball season.

Trent was diagnosed with coarctation of the aorta, which, according to Mayo Clinic, narrows the body’s largest artery, forcing the heart to pump harder to get blood to the rest of the body. He needed heart surgery.

“It was a complete shock,” Ashley Trent said. “Perfectly healthy kid, played three sports, was active all the time. We took him to the doctor for an earache and come to find out he’s got that. It was a whirlwind of emotions, but the community backed us 100 percent and showed their love and support. That meant a lot to us and helped us get through that.”

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Luckily, treatment for this condition is usually successful, as it was for Gavin Trent, but it requires “careful lifelong follow-up.”

Trent’s treatment and recovery process kept him inactive for the next two or three months, the opposite of what he was used to, and he spent a lot of that time at the St. Vincent Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital. It was there where he had a “life-changing experience” and developed a new perspective on life, which eventually led him to host this toy drive.

“I feel for those kids who are up there for terrible reasons,” Trent said. “I was in their shoes at one point, and it’s just so humbling to experience how much the community gives back and their support for me.”

A lot of people got to know Trent while supporting him through his recovery, and it’s because of the young man they met a few years ago that they flocked to Lincoln High School Dec. 9 to show their support once again.

While there were boxes full of toys at the school, there were just as many on the Trents’ kitchen table back home, all of which went with Trent to St. Vincent Dec. 20 to give to kids in need. Lincoln Athletic Director Rob Bills said he received “tons” of calls the day of the toy drive from people asking if they could stop by to donate even if they couldn’t stay for the game. Chris Trent said he talked to people that evening whom he hadn’t seen since he attended Lincoln.

“He’s always thinking of other people first,” Lincoln head boys’ basketball coach Rodney Klein said. “He’s been so blessed to go through the things he’s went through and come out with the outcome he’s had, and he wants to share that with other people. That’s what we’re here for, to be selfless and to serve others, and I can think of no two better ways to describe Gavin Trent.”

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Oh, and this was all Trent’s idea. Bills didn’t think of it. Klein didn’t think of it. His parents didn’t suggest it. Trent wanted to find a way to give back to the people who helped him through the toughest time of his young life, so he did, and his community helped make it a success.

“He’s been through a lot the first 18 years of his life, so he’s always been a little more mature than most,” Chris Trent said. “Going through what he’s gone through, he’s a natural leader, and he sees a bigger picture.”

You can see this on any athletic stage. Gavin Trent is vocal and leads by example on the football field, he fist-bumps every one of his teammates before taking the basketball court and he plays anywhere he’s needed at a high level on the baseball diamond.

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“I try my hardest to be a leader in everything I do,” Trent said. “If it’s a class project or something small like helping little kids with their math homework, I try to lead them and be a teacher in that aspect. Especially with sports, I love being the leader. I love taking these kids under my wing and mentoring them through everything I’ve been through and what to expect.”

He’s constantly in the spotlight, but that’s not where he likes to be. Trent will do everything in his power to help others, but sometimes, it’s the little things that seem the simplest that are actually the hardest for him.

Trent appeared on Richmond’s Kicks 96 radio station Dec. 9 to talk about the toy drive, and he was “sweating bullets.” The night before, he was up past midnight preparing and stressing over a pregame speech he would give to everyone over the gym microphone.

He deserves all the praise that comes his way, but he’d prefer to make a difference in silence. That’s why so many will miss him after he graduates.

“We’re extremely proud of him, and his sisters adore him,” Ashley Trent said. “He’s a pain in the butt, don’t get me wrong, but he’s a good kid and turned into a nice young man. When he goes off to school next year, I’m not sure what we’re going to do.”

Zach Piatt is a reporter for The Palladium-Item. Contact him at zpiatt@gannett.com or on Twitter @zachpiatt13.

This article originally appeared on Richmond Palladium-Item: Behind Gavin Trent’s toy drive for Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital