The teacher is the boy who never cried when he got sick.
The student is his mother, now on her own cancer journey.
In the Johnston household in Akron’s Ellet area this Christmas season, the courage of a son is giving strength to his mom.
The first person stricken with cancer in the Johnston’s home was Clayton. Known as “Clay,” he was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma in April 2001, several months before his fifth birthday.
Now 15, Clay said he had been complaining that his left leg hurt for a while. His doctors at the time said it sounded like growing pains, the family said.
Then his younger brother did something only a brother could do — an act that turned out to be a tremendous gift. Clay and Erick, then about 2 years old, were fighting, Clay recalled in a recent interview.
“He was overpowering me,” said Erick, now 13 and an eighth-grader at St. Matthew’s Parish School.
So Erick fought back. He bit his bigger brother on the left leg through his jeans. Parents Jennifer and William “BB” Johnston took Clay to the doctor to have the bite checked.
Within 48 hours, the family learned Clay had a type of bone cancer.
Over the next 15 months, Clay endured 18 rounds of chemotherapy, 22 hospital stays and seven operations.
A bone from a cadaver and a piece of metal were used to save his left leg, said his father, 53, an Akron fire lieutenant with 27 years in the department.
“It has given me a different look on life,” said Clay, a sophomore at Walsh Jesuit High School.
This past summer, after his parents had encouraged him to be strong and stay upbeat during his illness, it was Clay’s turn to give the same pep talks to his mother.
Jennifer Johnston, 47, was diagnosed with breast cancer in July.
On Wednesday, she had her eighth — and expected final — chemotherapy treatment. In January, she will undergo a mastectomy.
BB Johnston said the family has been changed by its cancer experiences.
“I think most of our changes happened 10 years ago, when Clay was in treatment — focusing on family, friends and enjoying the events that come along with that togetherness,” he said. “No one knows how long that we have with each other, so we try to enjoy each other and accept everyone as they are, not what we think they should be.
“My wife’s battle with cancer has refocused our attention on those things that matter to us.”
Jennifer Johnston said her son has inspired her for a decade. She witnessed how strong he was when he was being treated for cancer.
“If he can do it, I can do it,” she said.
She recalls one tough time when her son was hospitalized because of a blood infection. He was released the day before Christmas.
“He is a miracle,” she said.
Clay said his cancer gave him a new way to view the world. “Each day is something I cherish,” he said.
Clay is a member of the swim team at Walsh Jesuit. Because of his and his mother’s experiences with cancer, he said, he wants to work in the medical field. His goal is to become a nurse anesthetist.
His mother said she will “push through” her cancer.
“It is nice to know other people have gone down the path in front of you and you know who they are and they have beaten the odds,” Jennifer Johnston said. “I am going to beat the odds, too.”
Jim Carney can be reached at 330-996-3576 or at jcarney@thebeaconjournal.com.
