Heroes unite to make Gunnar's wish come true

CHAMBERSBURG - It took a village Sunday to make 5-year-old cancer victim Gunnar Downie's wish come true.

Make-A-Wish Foundation volunteers Carrie Forrester and April Burch were the organization's wish grantors, but they said it took many people working together to fulfill Gunnar's wish for lots of trucks, plus a few other special things he picked out during a shopping spree at the local Target department store Sunday afternoon.

Gunnar first went shopping at Toys"R"Us in Hagerstown Sunday morning, then he and his family had lunch with the Make-A-Wish organizers before heading to Chambersburg in the afternoon for the Target shopping spree.

Target employees, wearing special Gunnar-strong shirts, came in on their day off to make the day special for the little boy, and Hamilton Heights teachers and families participated in a Superhero vs. Supervillians game in which Gunnar was the hero who found and eliminated the villains on the way back to Target's toy department..

Gunnar and his family were accompanied to Target by a Chambersburg Police Department escort who met the entourage as it exited Interstate 81 and escorted it to the Target parking lot, where three Chambersburg Fire Department fire trucks waited with fights flashing to greet them.

Inside the store, a special shopping cart was outfitted and decorated as a "Gunnar-mobile" to carry Gunnar and his toy selections through the store and to the checkout counter when he was finished shopping.

The Chambersburg Steelers cheerleading squad lined up on each side of the main aisle to the back of the store, jumping up and down with pom-poms waving as the Gunnar-mobile made its way into the store.

Gunnar is suffering from Neurofibromatosis, and a tumor was discovered on his brain stem this year, his grandmother, Jean Socks, said.

The tumor isn't growing, so doctors at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center are currently watching it before determining whether, or when, to start chemotherapy.

While he is still very mobile and attends school, his symptoms -- including headaches, tingling in his legs and arms, tripping easily and choking when he eats -- aren't yet enough to limit his activities.

"He is happy, loving and energetic," said his mother, Kristina Downie. "He doesn't like being sick but he doesn't let it stop him."

Socks said Gunnar loves being outside and is always on the move.

After using a toy gun with foam "darts" to defeat all the "supervillians" placed strategically around the store between the entrance and toy department Sunday afternoon, Gunnar enthusiastically picked out both large and small toy trucks, a bicycle and other toys which Target employees placed in the Gunnar-mobile,

Soon the Gunnar-mobile was full, and another shopping cart was brought to the toy department for the overflow.

In addition to toys, the excited little boy picked out an electronic tablet and a stuffed toy or two before the entourage headed to the check-out counter at the front of  the store.

Store Manager Alyssa Loudenslager said many of Target's guest shoppers had donated money to the cause also, and onlookers Sunday afternoon were as enthusiastic as young Gunnar was about the event.The child chose a Target shopping spree because his mother works there and he loves the store, Loudenslager said.

He was accompanied on the shopping trip by his mother, grandmother and his 11-year-old sister, Brianna.

Vicky Taylor, 71`7-262-4754