Ahtyana Johnson has finally been able to enjoy the things she fought so hard to regain.
Just six months ago she couldn’t partake in her passions of running and dancing. Life itself was a chore for the Benjamin Cardozo senior track standout.
Back in September Johnson was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a condition that occurs when your body stops producing enough new blood cells, leaving her feeling fatigued and more vulnerable to infection. But on Saturday night at York College she was nothing of the sort. She was dancing, shaking and jumping her way across stage during the Jasper Performing Arts Center’s New Beginnings show.
“It means a lot to me because I haven’t been able to dance since I’ve been sick,” Johnson, who returned to the stage in late May for her spring recital at Cardozo, said. “This is the last time I am going to dance for awhile because I don’t know if I am going to be able to dance in college.”
She has spent six years with the company, which immediately helped Johnson organize and run bone marrow drives when it was believed she might need a transplant to save her life. When she was first diagnosed, getting out of bed and walking up stairs were difficult and exhausting. She still needs to correctly manage her health. During intermission, with another number coming up, her mom Fronia reminded her to drink Gatorade if she was tired.
“It’s become a habit,” Fronia Johnson said.
The path back to the normal life of a teenager began in February after successful ATG treatment. She returned to classes at Cardozo after getting home schooled. This spring Ahtyana Johnson began training for track and running the paths of Forest Park with Cardozo assistant coach Ray James after missing her entire senior season. She went to her prom, walked across the stage for graduation and has a graduation bash scheduled at Club Mink this week.
“She’s a strong kid, so having someone so strong around makes you want to be strong was well,” Cardozo teammates Chamique Francis said
Johnson watched the Judges compete at meets throughout the year, including the Millrose Games and the PSAL indoor and outdoor championships. She will attend South Carolina on a partial scholarship in the fall and run for Curtis Frye, the current coach of U.S. Olympian and former A.P. Randolph star Natasha Hastings.
“She never lost faith,” her father Gus Johnson said. “She knew she could do it. I’m not shocked. It was good to just see her doing things she loves, back at the track, dancing, prom…I’m just glad she was able to do some stuff we thought she was going to miss.”
Frye had been following her since she was a freshman and is willing to work with her as she gradually works her way back. Her mom described it as a family environment. Johnson ran the state’s second fastest time in the 400 both indoors and outdoors with marks of 55.02 and 54.17, respectively as a junior.
“He knew everything I was going through,” Ahtyana Johnson said of Frye. “He looked out for me when it was time to go to college. Everything happened for a reason. I’m kind of glad I ended up going to South Carolina.”
Even with her physical condition back to upwards of 90 percent, Johnson hasn’t forgotten her journey and others who are going through similar problems. Aplastic anemia affects one in every half million people in the United States and the immediate support she got meant so much.
Johnson and her family have been active in organizing and sporting bone marrow drives. Both Johnson and her mother wear white t-shirts with the words “Got Marrow?” in green letters and a red, white and blue ribbon design on the back
“She is not going to forget what she went through,” Gus Johnson said. “She is fighting for the rest of the kids.”
Her courage has not gone unnoticed. Before intermission ended, Ahtyana Johnson was brought on stage by New York City Councilman Rubin Wills. He called her an inspiration, someone who represents the best of the community. It’s all been part of the positive and inspiring turn Johnson’s life has taken after a serious uphill battle.
“It was rough,” Ahtyana Johnson said. “But in the end, I think it all worked out pretty good.”