Members of Cherry Log Christian Church (CLCC) are inviting the public to help them take to the streets (or street) of Cherry Log this Saturday in helping a young boy diagnosed with a rare brain condition.
One-year old Gunner Patterson was born with lissencephaly, also known as “smooth brain disorder,” said his mother, Charlie Patterson.
“Where a brain is very wrinkly and ridgy, his is completely smooth,” she said. “It’s very rare. We’d never heard of it or even read the letters of it prior to them being spelled out to us.”
Lissencephaly causes extensive developmental delays, which make early childhood milestones extremely delayed or out of sight, Patterson said.
“We didn’t know until a couple of months after his diagnosis that he was having seizures through the day that are called infantile spasms,” she continued. “They are nearly undetectable and like involuntary movements of the hands, not the convulsing you’d typically associate with seizures. He was hospitalized a week after that trying to determine which medications would work best for him.”
Since last year, Patterson and her husband, Nick, who also have a 3-year-old son and 10-year-old daughter, have made regular visits to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta-Scottish Rite Hospital, where Gunner sees multiple specialists.
“He sees a neurologist, a GI doctor, an eye doctor and an ENT doctor. He is extremely well taken care of down there. We can’t say enough wonderful things about his doctors,” said Patterson.
Gunner also undergoes several therapy sessions each week to help him try to reach those difficult milestones. The therapy center is an hour and-a-half away in Acworth, Patterson said.
“He has occupational, physical and speech therapy. His therapists are just like his doctors. We can’t say enough good things about them,” she added.
Patterson said the past year has opened her eyes to the many conditions and disorders faced by children and their families.
“You don’t think it’s possible till your child is affected. I have much greater sympathy and understanding for all the disorders that are out there,” she said.
Gunner recently qualified for a wheelchair, which will be costumed as a race car this Halloween, his mom noted.
“He might have a big diagnosis, but he is truly living life. He’s been more places and seen more things than most kids his age,” Patterson said.
Fun run fundraiser
Cherry Log Christian Church, the Patterson family’s place of worship, will hold Gunner’s Fun Run Festival Saturday, Oct. 23, from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. on the church grounds at 1149 Cherry Log Street.
“We knew that the family has incurred a number of financial burdens that are challenging. If we can do nothing else but pray and offer support for the family, we will throw an event to help with that,” said Adam Bradley, CLCC pastor.
The event will raise money with a fun run/walk starting at 10 a.m. Registered participants will walk or run down Cherry Log Street, from the church to the Cherry Log Clubhouse, then back to the church, Bradley said. There will be a water station at the clubhouse, he added.
The entire route is about a mile and a half.
“The sheriff’s department is helping us out by closing down one lane on Cherry Log Street,” Bradley said.
The event will also feature carnival games, food and prize raffles at the church, all of which are open to the public.
“We feel very privileged to be able to host an event to support such a worthy family. We look forward to hosting the community at the church for a really good time,” Bradley said.
Anyone who wants to participate in the fun run/walk can register in advance at CLCCDOC.org/gunner. Adult registration is $30 and youth registration is $15. Registrations come with a free T-shirt, and youth registration includes carnival games.
Bradley said virtual runners, who can’t attend in person, may also register for $10. “We will put pinwheels on our grassy knoll in front of the church for the virtual runners,” he noted.
Church secretary Malinda Geers said CLCC also has a fund set up for the Pattersons.
“Anyone can make a donation to the church for the Gunner Patterson Fund,” she confirmed.
Patterson said it was Geers who came up with the fun run idea, which came to her in a dream.
Patterson is grateful for that dream about to become reality and all the support that’s been shown to her family.
“We’ve been overwhelmed with support and love from our church and the community as a whole. The awareness and support mean more to my family than any donation could,” she added.