BAINBRIDGE, Ga. (WALB) - 3-year-old, Briar Jones, was diagnosed in Dec. of 2024 with a form of blood cancer known as B-cell acute lymphoblastic Leukemia. Briar’s mom, Alexis Jones, knew something was wrong when he started bruising.

“[Briar] had a black eye and we didn’t know why. Thursday, he stopped eating, by Friday he had a fever, and Saturday we took him to urgent care,” Jones said.

Briar Jones’ tests came back negative for common viruses and his symptoms were diagnosed as severe allergies. Trusting her gut, Alexis Jones reached out to their pediatrician for a second opinion, something she said saved her son’s life.

“The pediatrician told us to get bloodwork done immediately. We went to the hospital and got bloodwork, and it came back that he had acute Leukemia.”

Since the diagnosis, the Jones family’s new normal consists of weekly hospital stays and car rides back and forth to doctors’ visits in Atlanta. When Briar’s parents couldn’t work, their community stepped by hosting tournaments, raising nearly $2,000 to help with hospital expenses.

“We’re from a small town, and our small town has shown us so much love that we didn’t even know we had,” Jones continued.

Just four months ago, Briar had 99.9% Leukemia cells in his bone marrow. With the help of chemotherapy, he now has zero. Briar is not in remission yet, but the family is grateful the growth of the cancer has stopped, and the growth of their family can continue.

“I’m pregnant now with twins,” Jones said. “I just lean on God. If it wasn’t for God, I wouldn’t make it. We are grateful to God for keeping him alive.”

Briar Jones will continue his chemotherapy treatments in Atlanta and if everything continues to go well, he can enroll in daycare this fall.

If you would like to donate to the family’s GoFundMe, click here.

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