Attack Cancer Spotlight – Emmy Johnson

During a time when the entire world was experiencing hardship in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, Emmy Johnson was met with inconceivable news: her father had been diagnosed with Leukemia.

 

She recalls the shift in his energy and demeanor like it was yesterday. “He was always wicked active…all of a sudden, he just felt sick and wasn’t himself.” After several doctor’s appointments, he was brought to the UMass Hospital in Worcester for testing, at which point he and his family received the devastating news.

 

Now a senior at Wachusett Regional High School in Massachusetts, Emmy was not yet in high school when she found out about her father’s illness. Because of the timing being coupled with the pandemic, Emmy and her siblings only saw their father over Facetime for more than six months while he received treatment at Dana Farber as well as the UMass Memorial Hospital.

 

Nevertheless, the Johnson family experienced incredible support from their community. Family and friends would stop by with homemade dinners and offer company. Emmy said “It gave us a lot of hope knowing that we had so many people supporting us and praying for us, hoping for the best for my dad.”

 

Emmy’s father is now cancer-free. “He does have a defibrillator in and heart disease and his kidneys are a little bad but he is a lot better. He’s wicked active and he’s always been wicked positive about it,” she explained.

 

Having an extremely important figure in her life battle with Leukemia certainly caused Emmy to mature quickly. However, sports were a game-changer in her own journey. She added, “It caused me to have a lot of anxiety but through playing field hockey and sports and having coaches that supported me, it gave me a lot of confidence to get over my fears and clear my mind.”

 

Emmy Johnson is one of the first Attack Cancer participants pledging her performance on the field hockey field. She is an incredible midfielder who has plans for a future in D1 field hockey at Bryant. The cause is one close to her, and she is a strong advocate for those who’ve had similar experiences and being able to grow the awareness in the game of field hockey.

“I know a lot of people who have had cancer and I understand how impactful it can be on a family, not just the person who has it. So, I want to help people understand that others are going through it too, and they’re not the only ones.”

Join Emmy and Attack Cancer today HERE.