| Sources |
- [S84] E-Mail, Manda Fox [mgfoxx@iol24.com], 2 Aug 2004.
- [S27] The Daily Times, http://www.thedailytimes.com/, (Blount County, Tennessee), 19 Sep 2010.
Get your groove on: Fundraiser for Grayson Gunter to help with medical expenses
By Linda Braden Albert
lindaba@thedailytimes.com
A 10-year-old boy's enjoyment of the pool is obvious. He ducks his head under the water, exuberantly splashes with hands and arms, shakes the moisture from his eyes and with the big smile that rarely leaves his face, gives his audience a thumbs up.
For a little while, Grayson Gunter is free.
He's free of the wheelchair, free of the braces. He can move again and just be a little boy having fun.
Grayson's story is one of hope, of courage, of miracles. When he was born in 1999, he was found to have a severe heart defect. At 3 weeks of age, he was sent to Vanderbilt Children's Hospital in Nashville, over 200 miles away from his Maryville home, for the first of many heart surgeries.
Grayson's mother, Jamie Newman, said, “Up until he was 8 months of age, he probably had six different surgeries on his heart. When he was 8 months old, we went to Michigan so they could do major corrective heart repair. It was experimental, but we thought it worked.”
Nine months later when Newman took Grayson to his cardiologist for a routine checkup, they found that this was not the case: Grayson was experiencing heart failure, with his heart functioning at about 65 percent.
“The only other option we had was a heart transplant,” Newman said. “We put him on the transplant list, we waited six weeks, and he went to Vanderbilt on July 5 and got a new heart. This was 2001.”
Grayson, because of the immune-suppressant drugs and his young age, was fairly isolated from other children during this time. Newman said he had developmental delays because of that, but then caught up by the time he reached first grade.
“That was the first time he had a really good year,” Newman said.
The next battle
Grayson came down with what Newman thought was a stomach virus in late June 2008. Because he was small and had been throwing up a lot, Newman took him to the hospital.
“They gave him fluids, and then the doctor comes back in and says his white blood count is out the roof,” Newman said. The doctor had talked with Grayson's cardiologist at Vanderbilt, and the suspicion was that Grayson was rejecting the heart, which he'd had for seven years. Newman was instructed to take Grayson immediately to Vanderbilt.
“At midnight they put he and I in an ambulance, and we drove to Vanderbilt,” Newman said. “My husband and older son went home to grab some things.”
The news from Vanderbilt was shocking: Grayson's heart was fine. Instead, he was diagnosed with an unusual form of cancer, Burkitt's Lymphoma.
“It's very, very aggressive, and has a very high mortality rate,” Newman said. “We spent 15 months at Vanderbilt, and I'd say 98 percent of it was in-patient, in isolation. This was in 2008.”
In October of 2008, Grayson was in remission and was allowed to come home for his birthday.
“We were home for three days for his birthday, and by the time we got back, he had relapsed,” Newman said. “Relapsing while you're in treatment is really bad. They had to begin a really aggressive therapy.” This involved delivering the chemotherapy in his back into the spinal column as well as putting a port in his head to directly deliver chemotherapy to his brain.
“Well, he had seizures and strokes, and got an illness called spinal myelitis, which left him paralyzed on the left side and from the waist down,” Newman said. “Gradually, that's gotten better. A lot of it is due to therapy, and most of it is due to the grace of God and people that are praying. And with his fight, his will.”
Grayson stepfather, Jeff Newman, has been the biggest support during Grayson's illness and recovery.
“I thank God for him,” Jamie Newman said. “He took care of everything while I was gone. All I had to worry about was Grayson. He took care of my older son, Jacob — he's a freshman in high school now — so he was finishing up seventh grade. I missed Jacob's entire seventh-grade year of school. I never got to meet any of his teachers. The transition from intermediate school to middle school is a hard transition, anyway, and for your mom to be 200 miles away — my husband came every single weekend after he got off from work and stayed until Sunday night.”
Day by day
Now back at home and considered in remission since July, Grayson's life is filled with doctor's appointments, therapy sessions and attending school at John Sevier Elementary. Socially and emotionally, he is a fourth-grader; in his educational development, he is on a first-grade level, where he was when cancer struck.
“He thinks he's just like everybody else, which is really good,” Newman said. “He doesn't acknowledge he's any different.”
On Sept. 13 — Childhood Cancer Awareness Day — Grayson spent the day at school and then went to Blount Memorial Hospital's Wellness Center at Springbrook at the Pediatric Rehabilitation Center, where he met with occupational therapist Beth Bostrom for a session to help with memory improvement, then with physical therapist Barb Knowlton for his time in the pool.
With Bostrom, Grayson played a memory match game. His mother explained that after the stroke, Grayson's memory has been affected and the games Bostrom plays with Grayson help him regain some of that ability.
“Playing” in the pool with a physical therapist gives Grayson a good workout, building strength in his body while at the same time giving him the freedom to move that he does not have on solid ground. Knowlton said, “The pool is an awesome place for these kids where they can get out of the wheelchair and do something they can't normally do. They don't have gravity working against them. They love it.”
September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month, and Newman urges everyone to wear the gold ribbon showing support for the children.
“All us mamas and daddies try so hard to get this known,” she said. “Every day, one in five kids is diagnosed with cancer in America.”
As for Grayson, he is a miracle in the making.
“They told us he would never move his legs,” Newman said. “They told us he was completely paralyzed for life. The progress he's making is outstanding. ... If he stands, that's wonderful. If he walks, it's a miracle. I'll take whatever I can get. I just want him to have as much progression as he can.”
Groovin' for Grayson
Grayson medical expenses above the amount covered by insurance are quite high. To help meet these expenses and provide the additional therapies and modifications at home that Grayson needs to maximize his independence, a fundraiser has been set for Sept. 25 at “The Farm” at 3745 Mint Road, Maryville. Called “Groovin' for Grayson,” the event begins at 5 p.m. with a complimentary dinner with each purchased ticket followed by musical entertainment by Laurel Wright at 6:15 p.m. and featuring Blue Mother Tupelo at 7 p.m. The evening also includes a silent auction and prizes.
Tickets are $25 for adults, $10 for children 12 and younger. They may be purchased by contacting Jamie Newman at 776-6574 or jeffjamie@bellsouth.net.
Donations are very much appreciated, as well. An account has been set up at First Tennessee Bank. Donations may be made at any branch or mailed to the bank. Make checks payable to “Grayson C. Gunter” and note “Fundraiser” on the memo line.
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1999 - (~ 24 years)