About Blount Brothers Military Support
Jordan and Dajia Blount were the proud parents of three amazing children: Gavin Jordan Blount, Bryson Jordan Blount, and Zoe Blount. Life was great. Jordan and Dajia realized the American dream, which changed in the blink of an eye.
Jordan Blount, a United States Navy Petty Officer, was deployed when he learned his eight-year-old son (Gavin) was diagnosed with pediatric cancer. Shortly thereafter, his youngest son (Bryson) was also diagnosed. One moment, they were enjoying life as a family, proudly serving their country. The next moment, they were grieving the loss of both of their sons.
In October 2021, 5 year old Gavin Blount was diagnosed with brain cancer. Only 3 months later, in January 2022, his 3 year old little brother, Bryson, was diagnosed with ALL Leukemia. Both Gavin and Bryson were diagnosed with CMMRD, or Constitional Mismatch Repair Deficiency, which made both boys predisposed to developing aggressive cancers. Treatment began immediately for both boys.
Unfortunately, due to the boys having CMMRD, the cancers in each of the boys grew too rapidly despite their aggressive treatments. Sadly, on February 18, 2023, Gavin passed away at the age of 6. Only 10 months later, on December 19, 2023, Bryson passed away at the age of 5.
Because of their experience, the Blounts created Blount Brothers Military support.
BBMS will guide and support active-duty military families to let them know they are not alone.
Meet The Blount Brothers
This division is created by Jordan and Dajia Blount in memory of their two sons, Gavin Jordan and Bryson Jordan Blount.
Superhero Gavin
Received: May 26, 2016
Returned: Feb 18, 2023
Age: 6
Favorite superhero: Spiderman
Gavin, 6, was the true big brother form to everyone. There was not anything in this world that he was not ready for. He loved school, playing with his brother and sister, dancing to Alexa, blasting his favorite songs, playing the Wii, and, most importantly, being a big brother. Unfortunately, he was diagnosed with a High-Grade Glioma, brain cancer, in October 2021 at the age of 5.
In a span of 6 weeks, he had four craniotomies at two separate hospitals. He soon after started radiation and was thriving. Also, during this time, we as a family had genetic testing done to find out that Gavin had CMMRD- Constitutional mismatch repair deficiency. Basically saying, it wasn’t a matter of if he was going to get cancer, but rather when he would get it. Soon after that, Gavin was placed on a clinical trial to help assist in his battle at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C. In June of 2022, it was discovered that more areas of his brain were being impacted at a faster rate.
We proceeded to have another craniotomy performed in July 2022 to remove one of the tumors near his frontal lobe. From that point, it started the process of declining for Gavin. By August of 2022, he started playing youth league football. However, he was showing signs of having trouble walking as the start of his 1st grade school year approached. By September of 2022, he was completely bound to a wheelchair. Over the next 5 months, the cancer was taking away little things at a time: the ability to control his bladder and feeling in his legs and stomach area. By mid-January of 2023, Gavin was unable to feed himself; it started with his arms shaking to the point he would spill his food. So we would sit down and feed him and talk to him.
The way we explained it to him was we wanted to feed him so we could spend more time with him instead of him consistently thinking about his inability to feed himself. So that’s what we did for the better part of a month straight. We started noticing signs of Gavin taking the next transition in his journey when he slept most of the day and
night away. We took him for one final doctor’s visit, which he slept through, and thanked his team for everything
they did to help Superhero Gavin get better. Sadly, on Feb 18, 2023, at 10:19 pm, Gavin took his last breath
with his family by his side. Superhero Gavin Jordan Blount was a true warrior and fought a tremendous 16-month battle with pediatric cancer.
He will never be forgotten.
Superhero Bryson
Received: Mar 8, 2018
Returned: Dec 19, 2023
Age: 5
Favorite superhero: Incredible Hulk
Bryson, 5 years old, was the definition of our true form of a “wild child.” He was our daredevil, full of energy and attitude. There was not a thing in this world that Bryson wouldn’t try at least once. Climbing trees and jumping off, jumping off the top of his bunk bed, play fighting, jumping in deep ends of the pool, the list is endless.
Bryson loved adventure, playing with his little sister, trying to be like his big brother, and singing, just to name a few. Bryson’s battle started unexpectedly. On December 30, 2021, we received the results of his genetic testing to find out he also had CMMRD, the same as Gavin, 2 months after Gavin’s initial diagnosis. Two weeks later, in January 2022, we took Bryson into the ER for bruises all over his body and constantly sleeping.
They informed us after further testing that Bryson had B-ALL leukemia. At the time, they told us it was the most curable form of leukemia, so in a way, we were relieved and scared at the same time. Over the next 30 days, he was in the hospital doing the induction phase of treatment, which resulted in him going into remission in February 2022. He hit the ground running from there. Outside of his treatment days, Bryson was back to doing his favorite things he enjoyed before. It almost seemed not to phase him, that is how well he was doing.
We moved back home and switched Bryson’s hospital to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP). Bryson took a turn just 4 days after his big brother, Gavin, passed away in February of 2023. We took him to the ER and never really left the hospital after that. He spent over 200 days either in the hospital or in a hotel close enough to the hospital for treatment purposes. Bryson went through numerous variations of treatment plans, from T-cell transplants, trying to get him to bone marrow transplant, and St. Jude gave some treatment recommendations to put him through.
Unfortunately, over 10 months, he continues to relapse, and our hopes for remission just keep being drowned. There was a point where we talked with the doctors and switched his care to management
and pain control. Thinking Bryson would have some time, it
was just a short 3 weeks after having that conversation. We knew it was growing closer when he was sleeping more
and not waking up to use the bathroom or even eat. On December 19, 2023, at approximately 8:19 pm Bryson took his last breath with his family by his
side.
Superhero Bryson Jordan Blount, a true
warrior,
fought for over twenty-three months
before
succumbing to pediatric cancer.
He will
never be forgotten.
We Are Here for Military Families
If you are an active duty military family facing pediatric cancer, you are not alone. Our resources are donations for families and offer guidance, support, and aid during this difficult time.
We have several programs and services created for military families, including a Military Support Group.
Help us continue our work and support military families facing pediatric cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.