Wahpeton Man to Trek 47 Miles for Kids at Shriners Hospital

Tom meadows will start his journey for the second time on December 17

WAHPETON, ND — In July, 59-year-old Tom Meadows walked 47 miles to raise money for kids at Shriners Hospital.

Now he’s getting ready to do it all over again this winter.

Ten cardiac stents and an enlarged heart didn’t stop Tom Meadows from raising money for kids at Shriners Hospital the first time this summer.

Now that he has a runner’s knee, it certainly won’t stop him and his oxygen tank from doing it again, despite the doctor’s orders.

“He said ‘you will not make it’. I said ‘what if I join a gym?’ And I did,” Meadows said.

Meadows will start his 47-mile-journey again in Wahpeton, and he’ll finish at the El Zagal Shrine in Fargo.

He will start his walk December 17, but not without a little help along the way.

“Every mile marker, I’ll stop and wait on him until he gets up there,” said Meadows’ wife Virginia.

“You don’t get to call men after this, ok?” Meadows said to his wife.

Tom’s wife, Virginia, will drive alongside her husband to make sure he has a place to warm up, and get some food, water and sleep.

But there will be a roadblock on Meadows’ journey this time.

“It’s going to be damn cold,” Meadows said.

He says the kids at Shriners are enough to keep him motivated though.

“How can you forget children, after doing something good, and be done with it? We have to continue on,” Meadows said.

It’s all for children like Matthew Reasoner’s son, who was born with only part of his arm but went to Shriners and received care at no cost.

“At the time, we weren’t doing very well financially. But they took care of everything. They were fantastic,” Reasoner said.

The kids are everything to Meadows, but his journey is also helping him create his legacy.

“I’m making my life count,” he said.

For Virginia, his legacy will always be that he makes her proud every day.

“He’s my hero and he’s my passion,” she said.

The Boiler Room is starting a challenge with local businesses in Fargo and Wahpeton to donate $50 or more to help Meadows reach his fundraising goal of $5,000.