An 18-year-old from San Angelo with leukemia reacts to the turnout among donors

A photo of Carlie Jo Johnson taken before her leukemia diagnosis.

SAN ANGELO, Texas (Concho Valley Home Page) – On June 22, hundreds of San Angelo residents gathered in the Central High School cafeteria to help find a suitable stem cell donor for Carlie Jo Johnson, a local 18-year-old with leukemia. While waiting for the results of the event, she and her family shared their thoughts on the turnout and what comes next.

According to Earl Young’s Team, the organization that led the campaign, 583 people were swabbed within five hours to become potential donors. Carlie Jo Johnson also stated that by midnight on June 25, 394 swab kits had been ordered online, bringing the total number of participants to 977.

“It’s amazing that there are so many people supporting me,” she said.

Earl Young’s team told a Concho Valley home page reporter that it would take about 4-6 weeks to process the sample taken from the drive. People who agreed to become donors during the event will remain in the register until they turn 61, and contact regarding donation will be possible four weeks after the trip.

“This has become our mission. We want to reach well over 1,000 donors entered in the register. We want to blow it up!” – said TaLisha Johnson. “I am an organ donor and until my own child desperately needed a stem cell transplant, I had no idea it was something completely different and how easy it was to donate and save a life. I believe that if we are healthy and fit, we should help everyone we can.”

However, the past few weeks have been quite difficult for Carlie Jo Johnson. Multiple health complications caused by her treatment severely impacted her physical and emotional well-being.

“The last few weeks haven’t been easy,” Carlie Jo Johnson said. “After intrathecal chemo, I had an air bubble in my brain and then a cerebrospinal fluid leak. My doctor told me I needed chemotherapy to prevent the leukemia from spreading to my brain, but it was terrible. I was tolerating chemotherapy very well until the last 2 weeks, but severe headaches, kidney stones (5 days in hospital) and mouth ulcers really affected my emotions and state of mind.”

Despite the enormous toll taken by her treatment and battle with cancer, Carlie Jo Johnson still maintains her inner peace. But that doesn’t mean it wasn’t difficult to maintain.

“I’m calm, but it’s still scary,” she said. “Every step of this journey has led me to where I am today, and I know God will provide a path. I definitely don’t want to have another chemo and I just want this nightmare to end. This really makes me feel better, but I have faith in my medical team and that God is using this situation for good.”

She is helped in her fight against leukemia by the story of Maverick, a 4-year-old boy from San Angelo who also has blood cancer and appeared at the donor collection. Maverick, who will soon celebrate a milestone in his treatment, has been an inspiration to her at this point in her life.

“I can’t wait to meet him. He’s adorable!” – said Carlie Jo Johnson. “He is undergoing treatment and will start calling on July 6.” Inspires me”.

Thinking about the present, Carlie Jo Johnson still plans to attend Texas Tech University in the future. She wants to go there with Koti Goolsby, a friend who is also undergoing cancer treatment, and study to become a nurse. Although she has not yet chosen a field of practice, her current struggle has led her to consider oncology – the study and treatment of cancer.

“We both plan to become nurses and are excited to start the next part of our lives,” she said. “I haven’t decided what area of ​​nursing I want to focus on, but after this I’m thinking about working in oncology if I can cope emotionally.”

Although the stem cell donation drive is weeks away, Carlie Jo Johnson would like to thank her supporters, both near and far, for participating in this event and for their continued kindness. With this turnout and additional actions taking place across the country, he believes it’s only a matter of time before he’s on the road to remission.

“Thank you again! On days when I’m really down, it seems like the perfect message, letter, or call comes at just the right time. Seeing people sign up for the registry helps me know that my match is approaching, that I have options and a future,” she said. “My body is tired and I’m ready to move on, and knowing that there are so many people at home supporting me helps me get through the difficult times.”