Chopticon Freshman, Childhood Cancer Survivor To Take Field With Ravens For Crucial Catch Sunday

HOLLYWOOD, Md. — Hudson Gatton, 14, a Chopticon High School freshman and childhood cancer survivor from St. Mary’s County, will step onto the field at M&T Bank Stadium Sunday as the Baltimore Ravens recognize cancer patients, survivors and families during the team’s Crucial Catch game.

Gatton was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia at age 3 after a fever led to an emergency room visit and helicopter transport to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital. He underwent years of treatment, approximately 1,100 days of chemotherapy, procedures and hospital visits before completing treatment in April 2018.

Today, Gatton is an honor roll student taking advanced placement classes, a left wing on Chopticon’s junior varsity soccer team, a big brother and a dedicated Ravens fan. His mother, Tamara Brewster, said the positive personality he carries today was also evident throughout treatment, when hospital visits and medical procedures had simply become a familiar part of his childhood.

Brewster experienced that journey from multiple perspectives as Hudson’s mother, caregiver and a nurse then working at MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital. She said family, community members and her MedStar coworkers rallied around them during treatment, including colleagues who donated their paid leave, allowing her to remain home with her son. Brewster has since continued her career with MedStar and now works as nursing director of the MedStar Georgetown Cancer Institute at MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital.

On Sunday, mother and son will join more than 30 MedStar Health cancer patients, guests and health care workers for an on-field flag unfurling during the Ravens’ Crucial Catch game. Gatton will also participate in the bell-ringing ceremony.

For Gatton, the recognition brings together a childhood cancer journey and a love for the Ravens that began when he was little and gives the Chopticon freshman a chance to take the field with the team he grew up cheering for.

A Ravens Fan Since Childhood

At 14, Gatton is settling into his freshman year at Chopticon High School, where he plays JV soccer and is adjusting to the changes that come with moving into high school.

When he is not at school or playing soccer, Gatton spends time playing video games and following the Baltimore Ravens. His favorite player is quarterback Lamar Jackson.

His allegiance to Baltimore began years earlier amid a family football rivalry, while his father rooted for Washington, his grandmother was a dedicated Ravens fan. Gatton said he remembers seeing his grandmother watching Baltimore on television and choosing her side for a distinctly childhood reason — he liked the Ravens’ colors.

That fandom took on a new significance earlier this week when Gatton was invited to Baltimore to participate with the Ravens’ Crucial Catch observance this Sunday.

Gatton said he was “kind of shocked and confused” when he learned earlier this week that he would participate.

“It was out of nowhere,” Gatton said.

The experience also carries a deeper significance for Gatton. Although many of his memories of treatment have faded, he remembers frequent hospital visits, procedures and blood draws, and the doctors and nurses who became part of his childhood.

“I remember just like making everybody laugh and just hanging out with all the doctors and nurses at the hospital,” Gatton said.

Asked what that part of his childhood means to him now, his answer was brief.

“Happy, and I’m glad that I made it through,” Gatton said.

He said participating in Crucial Catch is also an opportunity to draw attention to what other children experience while undergoing cancer treatment.

“Just like spreading awareness to what happened and what a lot of kids go through,” Gatton said.

His advice for another young person facing a similar journey was equally straightforward as he said, “just don’t give up and be positive.”

A Southern Maryland Family’s Journey

Brewster has lived in St. Mary’s County throughout her life, with roots on her mother’s side extending through generations of the county. She was working as a nurse at MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital when her son was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in February 2015.

Gatton had been running a fever for several days. Brewster initially suspected a seasonal virus, but when the 3-year-old began holding his side, she brought him to the emergency department. Where blood tests quickly changed their lives. 

Brewster overheard staff discussing the abnormal blood test results and, as a medical professional, she understood what the results could mean. 

“As a nurse, I knew what that meant,” Brewster said. “So I felt like in that moment, I was like, ‘my kid has cancer.’”

Gatton was flown to MedStar Georgetown University Hospital, where testing confirmed acute lymphoblastic leukemia the following morning.

What Brewster remembers most about the years that followed was not only her son’s treatment but the people who helped her family endure it. She said family members and members of the local community organized fundraisers, while her MedStar St. Mary’s coworkers donated leave.

“I really don’t want to sound cliché, I mean, honestly, our community — our village, too,” Brewster said.

Their support allowed her to remain home with her son while receiving pay for approximately nine months during an intensive period of his treatment.

“The induction phase was like three times a week for eight months,” Brewster said. “So I was able to stay home with him during all of that, mostly due to the fundraising and people donating leave to me.”

Brewster said her son also helped carry the family in a different way.

Brewster remembered leaving chemotherapy appointments at Georgetown after emotionally exhausting days, only for her son to ask what they were doing next or whether they could go swimming.

“He kind of forced all of us to be happy and positive and thankful,” Brewster said.

When treatment ended in April 2018, Brewster discovered that completing cancer treatment brought another adjustment. After three years of frequent blood tests, appointments and reassurance from the medical team, the sudden reduction in monitoring frightened her.

“Looking back, it was definitely a hard transition,” Brewster said.

Today, Brewster works in cancer care as nursing director of the MedStar Georgetown Cancer Institute at MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital, and she said experiencing her son’s illness from the other side of the hospital bed fundamentally changed her approach to nursing and her understanding of patients’ families.

As Gatton prepares to step onto the field Sunday as a high school freshman, soccer player and Ravens fan, Brewster is careful about where cancer fits within her son’s identity.

“I don’t want cancer to define Hudson,” Brewster said. “It was just part of his journey.”

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