This blonde haired, blue-eyed cutie is Harrison. He is 17 years old and captures the heart of anyone he comes in contact with. He loves music, motorcycles, rollercoasters, being outdoors, dancing, swimming and using his iPad and enjoying the company of other people. He has played adapted baseball since he was five years old and participates in other adapted sports through a buddy program at his high school. Born prematurely, Harrison experienced significant health concerns, seizures and symptoms requiring hospitalizations and surgeries. Despite tons of testing, nothing brought answers until he was 14-years old. After experiencing traumatic violent seizures that lead to fractured bones and teeth, his parents sought out for answers through a DNA Sequencing test and he was diagnosed with PURA Syndrome. At the time, Harrison was only the twenty first case recorded throughout the world, although now there are about 301 known cases.
This is a neurodevelopmental diagnosis that presents itself with children being nonverbal, non-ambulatory as they get older, seizures, developmentally delayed both mentally and physically, diaper dependent and yet they all have extremely sweet and happy demeanors Harrison has to sleep in a special “Sleep Safe” bed, requires a wheelchair for mobility, uses simple signs and gestures to communicate, attends special classes at school for children with severe disabilities, and requires assistance in all aspects of his daily care. Harrison also serves as a “Miracle Kid” with For the Kids at both Kennesaw State University and Georgia Tech in an effort to give back to the community at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta that has helped him to become the admirable person he is today. Sunshine on a Ranney Day has chosen Harrison as the beneficiary of an accessible bathroom renovation to help make his days brighter and his smile wider. He hopes that you will support this endeavor and join us at the big reveal.
