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Lyra

  • 7 Years Old

  • Autism spectrum, sensory processing and speech disorders, global developmental delay

Lyra is an incredible 7 year old kid. She has never met a stranger because everyone is a friend and she cares deeply for them. She loves all things glitter, unicorn, and pink. She is a kind, inclusive, and thoughtful kiddo that brightens the world of everyone she knows. She loves to craft and make things like cards, bracelets, pictures, and trinkets for all of her friends. Lyra lives to help especially in the kitchen and caring for the chickens. Her family adores her and she is her little brother’s hero. 

“She has never met a stranger because everyone is a friend…”

Her family learned that Lyra is autistic when she was two and a half years old at the Marcus center and she has grown so much since then. She receives support from services at McKenna farms and Focus on Function. On top of that, she gets to learn at her own pace and in her preferred learning styles at home. Sunshine on a Ranney Day is excited at the opportunity to transform her basement room into a safe learning/therapy room! Her favorite place to be is outside – swings, picking flowers, riding her scooter, horseback riding at McKenna, and anything with water!

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Photography by Niki Murphy

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Braxton

  • 12 Years Old

  • Spina Bifida Lipomyelomeningocele

Braxton is 13 years old and the oldest of 3, he’s a big brother to Wyatt and Landry.  On most days, you can find him playing basketball in the driveway, gaming on the Xbox, or begging his mom to take him to the Lego store.  Braxton was born with Spina Bifida/Lipomyelomeningocele and has endured over 14 surgeries to date at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta.  Braxton attends Veritas Classical Schools which is a home school hybrid.  This allows Braxton’s schedule to be more flexible when medical appointments, therapies, and surgeries arise.  Although ambulatory, Braxton’s mobility has lessened over the years and he’s relying more on his wheelchair and other assistive devices to accomplish daily activities. 

“He is very creative and has an 8-foot table housing a giant city that he has designed and continuously recreates all himself.”

Braxton sometimes struggles physically since he is unable to run and walk like most kids his age but that has not slowed him down!  Braxton is the athlete of his family, playing both wheelchair basketball and competing in adaptive track and field for BlazeSports.  He would actually like to participate in ALL adaptive sports, but he would need his own chauffer.  On the basketball court, #5 plays with his whole heart and fierce determination!  Braxton recently made the Prep All-Tournament Team at the NWBA Nationals in 2022.  He hopes to play wheelchair basketball at the collegiate level as well as dreams to make Team USA one day.   On the track, he is a lover of field events and broke the national record for shotput in 2019.  Braxton is also an avid member of Scouts in Troop 1459 and is on track to earn his Eagle Scout Ranking in the future. He recently went on a 4-day adventure to Cumberland Island where he was able to hike over 20 miles with his troop in his Grit Freedom Chair.   Braxton is also a LEGO MANIAC and has thousands and thousands in his room!  He is very creative and has an 8-foot table housing a giant city that he has designed and continuously recreates all himself. He is an amazing artist as well and loves to veg out and play video games with his brother and friends. Braxton is active in his church youth group at North Point Community Church and is surrounded by amazing leaders and friends.  

Braxton’s family calls him Braxton the Brave as he inspires his family everyday through the path that God has laid out before him.  Braxton and his family are so excited about his bedroom and bathroom accessible makeover.  Gaining that extra independence will be a game changer as well as make each day brighter!

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Photography by Niki Murphy Photography

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Harper

  • 4 Years Old

  • PTHS – Pitt Hopkins Syndrome

This tiny diva is Harper Grace.  Harper’s gorgeous smile and contagious laugh can truly light up a room.  Although she isn’t able to communicate verbally, it’s amazing how much she can tell us with just a look.  Just by being around her, you can tell that she may be tiny, but she has a big heart and big purpose.

After a fairly uneventful twin pregnancy, Harper and her brother Nolan were born on May 31, 2015.  At around a year of age, while her brother was meeting his milestones, Harper was falling further and further behind.  After going through several rounds of tests, a neurologist diagnosed Harper with Pitt Hopkins Syndrome (PTHS), which is a rare genetic disorder affecting a specific gene in chromosome 18, called TCF4.  There are roughly only 700 diagnosed cases worldwide.  PTHS is characterized by extreme developmental delay, gastrointestinal issues and a lack of speech. 

Harper’s gorgeous smile and contagious laugh can truly light up a room.  Although she isn’t able to communicate verbally, it’s amazing how much she can tell us with just a look.

Harper is four and is striving to achieve developmental milestones.  Because of her developmental delays and motor planning issues, she is nonverbal but is striving to learn how to walk. She participates in speech, occupational, physical and hippotherapy where she is learning to accomplish independent movement and is using an augmentative communication device to express her needs and thoughts. Harper has little body awareness and doesn’t have the necessary protective instincts to help keep herself safe when she’s playing and sleeping. 

Harper, along with her twin brother, has a 2 year old little sister, Mia. Harper is in special needs pre-K at Whitlow Elementary and loves school and seeing her friends and teachers.  She’s a very social little girl, who likes to swing and swim and play with toys that are musical and light up.  She adores music and watching movies with a great soundtrack!

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Photography by Kristi Weaver Photography

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