The brave Navy SEALs wage their battles all around the globe, but for courageous B.J. Correll, his battlefield is his hospital bed in North Carolina. That is where B.J. takes on a very familiar foe… cancer. But this week, the powerful 14-year-old had some imposing reinforcements and a new badge of honor to take only his enemy.
The boy has had dreams of becoming a U.S. Navy SEAL ever since a middle school project, and on this day his dreams became a reality. A group of retired Navy SEALs made a surprise visit to B.J. at his Duke University Hospital bed and made him an honorary member. “You are now a Navy seal,” Stephen Brown, a SEAL Swim Charities member, told B.J. The veterans not only offered him a plaque and a flag, but also the ultimate compliment.
“He shows the character of what a SEAL would be like. He’s very strong,” Brown said. “He has gone through so much. So much pain, just not physically but mentally. And he stayed so strong through it.”
This is B.J.’s second battle with leukemia. Correll was first diagnosed with leukemia back in 2012. Then in May 2015, with only seven months of treatment left, doctors informed the family that the cancer had returned.
“It took my breath away. He’s having a hard time right now,” his mother, who was not identified, told Fox 5 Atlanta. “We are on our last option and it was just amazing for him to already have what he’s wanted to do for his life.”
You can see updates on B.J. on the Cure for BJ Round 2 Facebook page, and there is also a GoFundMe page where you can help the Correll family with the medical bills and expenses through B.J.’s next step in his journey.