By Thomas van Arsdale
Intern
Buddy Weeks sat in Sunday school on a June morning at Victory Baptist Church when he heard about 9-year-old Miranda Thomas, who is battling a rare blood disease. In November 2013, Miranda was diagnosed with severe aplastic anemia, which damages bone marrow and blood stem cells, causing a blood cell deficiency. The day Weeks was visiting Victory Baptist, Miranda’s father, Jimmy Smith, spoke about the ups and downs of her medical situation, the constant financial burden and of ultimately persevering through faith.
“It was as if a bucket of ice water was dumped on me,” Weeks said. “When her father was speaking, I was wondering how my wife and I would feel if we were in that situation. I knew I had to do something.”
Weeks, a 44-year-old Fort Bragg Advanced Leader Course instructor, was at work when he devised the idea to walk from Fort Bragg, in Fayetteville, N.C., to Wrightsville Beach to raise money and awareness for Miranda.
Monday, July 7, at 7 a.m., Weeks left on foot, while community members followed him with clothes and water. More than 100 miles later, Thursday, July 10, at 11 a.m., he arrived at Johnnie Mercer’s Pier with blisters on his feet and more than $1,300 raised toward Miranda’s medical bills.
“It’s a true blessing,” Jimmy Smith said during a July 10 phone interview. “For somebody that only knows Miranda through the church, and yet goes to the extent that Buddy did, overwhelms Miranda, me, and my wife with joy and appreciation.”
The money will aid the family in paying for a series of bone marrow transplants, which is the next step in Miranda’s treatments.
“You hear about it all the time, and people like this are all around us, but then there will be one, like Miranda, that just hits you because she’s in your own community,” Weeks said after reaching the pier. “If you want to help someone, it only takes you five minutes to find someone. I am proud to have done it for her.”
The public can donate to Miranda Thomas by logging onto www.youcaring.com and searching Walk and Talk Miranda Thomas.
