A community in Pennsylvania organized a 520-car parade last week for a young girl with an inoperable brain tumor. The girl was able to watch the parade from her house as friends and loved ones drove by in their vehicles to wish her well.
Maria Middleton witnessed over 520 vehicles filled with people who drove by her house last week to show their support for the 17-year-old, who was recently diagnosed with an inoperable tumor on her brain stem, according to a report by NBC 10 Philadelphia.
Watch below:
On April 11 — the day before Easter — friends, loved ones, and other members of the Bedminster, Pennsylvania community surprised Maria with a parade of hundreds of cars, in which the 17-year-old girl was able to watch from a window inside her home.
In the video, even the Easter Bunny can be see stopping by to wave hello. The parade of vehicles lasted an hour.
“The thing that made it easier for me, that kind of distracted me was the amount of love and prayers that I have received, because I could just feel it,” said Maria, reacting to the car parade.
“Like I could almost feel I was being lifted up by all the prayers, and that helps deal with everything,” she added.
While the report did not mention why mention why Maria remained inside her home for the car parade, it can likely be assumed that the girl stayed inside due to a social distancing precaution, which is commonly used to prevent the further spread of the Chinese coronavirus.
“Hey [Ryan Reynolds], mind if you can give some words of encouragement to my 17-year old sister?” tweeted Maria’s brother to the actor on Wednesday. “Maria is courageously fighting an inoperable brain tumor. 520 vehicles surprised her this weekend with a parade in our community! Thanks for considering.”
Reynolds responded less than hour later, offering to send Maria a video.
“Can you open your DM’s so I can send a video for Maria?” the actor tweeted.
This is not Reynolds’ only recent act of kindness. Last month, the actor and his wife — actress Blake Lively — donated $1 million to Feeding America and Food Banks Canada to help those affected by the Wuhan virus.
The couple then later donated an additional $400,000 to four hospitals in the New York City area that have been the hardest hit by the disease.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
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