BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) – A McNeese State University student helped a young girl beat a serious illness from hundreds of miles away, and the two finally got to meet this week. Sophie Cromer, a third-grader from Moody, Alabama, learned two years ago that she has aplastic anemia, a disease that causes shortness of breath, nosebleeds, and headaches. The only cure is a bone marrow transplant.