David Cook: Darius Goes West
posted November 25, 2008

David Cook

Every Thanksgiving, I think of Roy Exum. Before our city’s newspapers merged together, Roy would write his annual Thanksgiving column, listing dozens and dozens of people and events for which he was thankful. There was always some power in this, in creating a long list of thanksgivings, and in hindsight, I realize Roy was practicing the spiritual discipline of gratitude, of giving thanks, and perhaps there is no greater spiritual discipline than this.

So with a nod towards Roy, who gave me my first job as a writer and, on a more serious note, who has been in dire health recently, I would like to tell the story of Darius Weems. He is a teenager from Athens, Ga., whose story is unforgettable, and undoubtedly would have made Roy’s Thanksgiving list.

Darius Weems has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a version of muscular dystrophy that carries a complete fatality rate. There is no known cure, but most people associated with DMD say the cure is so close they can taste it. But those same people always speak with urgency, for until the cure comes, the disease will continue to remain the number one genetic killer of, as one man called it, our most precious population: children and teenagers.

Darius Weems is 19 years old, the same age of his brother Mario, when he died from DMD. Before Mario died, he asked another Georgia teen – Logan Smalley – to watch over his younger brother Darius. So a few years ago, making good on that promise, Logan and 10 other Georgia teens scooped Darius up (he has lost control over most of his body, unable to move little save his hands), saddled him in an RV, and organized a cross country tour, destined for Los Angeles and MTV studios.

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