“Go west young man, and grow with the country,” proclaimed a newspaper editor in the 1800s, when pioneers were pushing toward the Pacific Ocean.

At 15, in a wheelchair and knowing that death from Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is only a short time away, Darius Weems did just that.

Last night, he brought a classroom full of people at Kane Hall along for the ride during the screening of the award-winning documentary Darius Goes West: The Roll of His Life.

In an RV with a gang of friends, Weems travels from Athens, Ga. to Los Angeles, Calif. in an attempt to get his wheelchair pimped on MTV’s Pimp my Ride and raise awareness of, and money for, DMD.

About one in 3,500 males worldwide are affected by DMD, a genetic mutation that destroys muscle tissue. According to Charley’s Fund, a foundation that contributes money to DMD research, it is the most common fatal genetic disorder that affects children.

Before the age of 10, boys exhibit symptoms including fatigue and muscle weakness; by puberty they are paralyzed, and usually by their early 20s or 30s, the disorder takes their life.

Treatments like physical therapy and breathing devices can extend life, but DMD is incurable.

Weems is 19 now, the same age his brother, Mario, was when he died of DMD, and he’s come West again to promote the film in Mario’s memory and continue to raise funds for DMD. The group parked its RV in Red Square yesterday afternoon in preparation for the screening last night.

“A little over a year ago, when I first saw the documentary, I wanted to do everything I could to get at least one of the crew members out to Washington to host a screening,” freshman Sarah Reed said, who invited the film crew to the UW and who had a teacher in high school whose son has DMD. “As a student at UW, I know our campus is full of compassionate, empathetic and driven students who would enjoy the documentary as much as I have.”

Weems has not been in Seattle long enough to gauge its wheelchair accessibility, but there’s always a new challenge, he said. Places should be accessible for anybody, he said. One of the aims of the documentary was to bring awareness to the need for accessibility everywhere.

Before he began traveling in 2005, Weems had never been outside the county where he grew up, much less seen the ocean. He checked that off his list in Florida, where his friends wheeled him out into the surf and lifted him in. He went on a hot air balloon ride and saw the Grand Canyon, too.

“You can get out and do anything,” he said.

Being on the road helps him keep going, and he said, “I got to be strong for my family.”

“Things like this you don’t really think about until it happens to someone you know,” said sophomore Alex Strohofer, who had Reed’s teacher for a cross-country running coach at Newport High School.

His coach had to quit to take care of his son.

“It was so sad to see,” Strohofer said.

“The trip has given Darius a purpose,” Reed said. “He has devoted what little time he has left to raising awareness and funds in an effort to save the next generation of boys with DMD.”

The documentary was on sale in the lobby of Kane Hall for $20, and $17 of that goes to Charley’s Fund to further research into the disorder.

For now, Darius and the crew are working on selling one million DVDs before Darius’ 20th birthday Sept. 27, and UW students seem to be doing their part.

As Collin Shepley, one of Weems’ crew, said, “It’s a packed house in there.”

Reach reporter Erinn Unger at news@dailyuw.com.