Brooklyn Girl Dies After Years-Long Battle With Cancer

BROWNSVILLE, BROOKLYN – Mia Blount, a 13-year-old girl who a battled bone cancer from the single-room shelter home she shared with her mom, died Monday night, according to friends of the family.

The community is now rallying around Mia's mother, who quit her job last month to care for her daughter during her last days, by raising money on GoFundMe to pay for Mia's funeral.

"Sadly, Mia passed away last night," an unidentified friend wrote Tuesday morning. "May God continue to bless our Angel Mia."

Mia's death came after a two-year fight with cancer that left her with a painful metal rod in her leg and just one functioning lung, family said.

Doctors recently gave Mia six months to live, then on Monday morning realized it was a matter of days, according to an update posted to GoFundMe Monday night.

"Her hospice nurse estimated that our girl has about 24 to 48 hours to live," a friend posted hours before Mia died.

"Everything is being done to make sure she is as comfortable as possible while she is still with us."

Mia also battled pain in the years before her death, but she did not do it alone. Her mother, Shameeka Williams, moved from Charlotte to a Brooklyn shelter in order to find work, take care of her kid and pay Mia's medical bills.

And Nyesha Shade, assistant principal at Brownsville Collaborative Middle School, launched the GoFundMe in January 2017 to help the student she saw struggling in the hallways of her school.

"Her days are very difficult while she tries to get around on crutches and smile through the pain," Shade wrote.

"The doctor originally used the metal rod to replace her cancerous femur, but now that leg is 2 inches shorter than the other."

Shade detailed Mia's struggle to commute and attend classes with the painful rod in her leg, but also her mother's battle to find work while caring for her daughter, whose doctors were all in Charlotte where the cancer was first diagnosed.

"Shameeka is currently traveling back and forth between New York City and Charlotte to seek employment in hopes of moving her family back down south," Shade wrote. "The environment will be more conducive to her healing process."

But plans to move were curtailed when doctors discovered in July of 2017 that the cancer had returned and spread to her leg and chest, Shade wrote.

Mia underwent another round of chemotherapy that did not stop the cancer from spreading across her body.

Now that Mia has passed away, the $50,000 GoFundMe, which had raised about $15,500 as of Tuesday, will help her mother bury her.

"These funds will ensure that Mia has the proper services and burial she deserves," the update reads. "As well as help with the rent, food and basic necessities that Mia's mother and siblings will need to survive until her mother is able to secure a job and get back on her feet again."

To contribute, visit GoFundMe.com.

Photos courtesy of Mia's Fund/GoFundMe, a Patch media partner