She was fighting for her life. Now she’s doing better and her family wants to thank you.

The Wilborns knew it all along, Maranda’s mother says.

Since the day last fall when the doctor said the knots in little Maranda’s arm were a form of cancer called rhabdomyosarcoma, the family knew that with God’s help she would beat it. And she’s well on her way to doing just that.

In December, when the News-Democrat reported about Maranda’s fight with cancer, Dr. Willliam Ferguson of Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital said that hers is a “pretty high-risk tumor” and cautiously warned that some children respond well but other kids have recurring tumors.

“She’s responded really well from the first treatment and continues to do well, so I’m hopeful,” Ferguson said this week.

Although Maranda has some skin irritation from the radiation, she continues to tolerate the treatments well, and she will continue to undergo chemotherapy and radiation that follows protocol for a few more months, Ferguson said.

“It’s been a tough road, but it’s gotten easier,” said Maranda’s mother, Myiesha. “You got that she’s cancer-free, right?”

Family on solid rock

The family’s foundation is their faith.

“I’ve heard people testify ‘God’s a wonder,’” said Randy, Maranda’s dad. “As we found out, to serve God, well God has to take us through a process. ... And when this came, it hit us. God has to take us through this process.”

Seeing that process “was like seeing the hand of God,” he said.

Randy and Myiesha didn’t tell the girl right away what all the hospital visits and treatments were for. But when they did, Maranda fired back with an atypical response for the normally reserved girl.

“I tried to ask her about it ... ‘Do you know about cancer?’” Myiesha said she asked Maranda. The girl told her mom that she knows cancer is something people have in their bodies. Myiesha proudly mimicked her daughter’s animated response: “‘Do I have it in my body? No!’”

Maranda’s hair did fall out as her mother undid her braids early in treatment, but Maranda took it in stride, Myiesha said, looking pained at the telling of that story.

“She was like, ‘I don’t care about that ugly hair. God’s gonna give me new hair,’” Myiesha said.

Randy said one of the main things the family has learned through their faith, and from the older folks at church, is sharing the goodness of God. Out of the mouths of babes, he said.

“As we listened to Maranda ... Maranda stood on one thing. She’s constantly proclaiming it’s gone. ... We know God is in control.”

“We got a lot of peace and comfort through her,” he said.

Help from strangers

The family was quickly overwhelmed by the community’s support. The GoFundMe page that Randy Wilborn started in late October had languished at a few hundred dollars last year. Since then, the account hit $9,000, but that’s just the beginning of the blessings upon the family. The family was grateful for the help and had used the money for bills. Those bills and gas costs are hard to pay when Randy has to take off work to get Maranda to the hospital.

They used $1,000 trying to fix the vehicle’s heater, which they use several times a week in taking Maranda to Cardinal Glennon.

Another mechanic gave them badly needed tires for their vehicle, along with making other needed repairs, and didn’t take a dime.

They were able to pay off the vehicle with help from GoFundMe, erasing the worry that it would be repossessed.

They also caught up with electric and water bills.

The school family from Jefferson Elementary helped, and complete strangers contacted the family with offerings and prayers.

But the community did not forget Maranda’s siblings either. Brother Randy Jr. and sister Mariah were showered with clothes and toys.

“People that read the newspaper would comment (on the GoFundMe page)” offering specific gifts to the children as well as money, she said. “The living room was piled.”

The memories of generosity by anonymous donors brought tears to Myiesha’s eyes; she said she wishes she could personally thank each donor.

This story was originally published April 16, 2017 at 8:00 AM with the headline "She was fighting for her life. Now she’s doing better and her family wants to thank you.."