Eastern High School Student Welcomed with Open Arms After Beating Cancer
By: Curtis Feder
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REEDSVILLE, Ohio (WOUB) — Community members of Reedsville gathered to welcome an Eastern High School student ahead of Eastern’s boys basketball game against Southern Friday.
Braylyn Johnson, 14, played basketball and baseball for the Eagles until he started to feel some pain and discomfort in his legs in May of 2021. What seemed to be just growing pains at first, other abnormalities came to light that indicated to his parents that something was wrong.
“The weight of his blanket was too heavy at night,” said Braylyn’s mother Cindy. “That was almost like a light bulb [that] went off in my head. I knew.”
A few days after Mother’s day, the doctors diagnosed Johnson with Osteosarcoma, a form of bone cancer commonly found in young adolescents. As Braylyn began treatment, churches and neighboring communities rallied to help fund and raise awareness to his cause.
After nearly eight months of battling cancer, including a risky surgery, multiple blood infusions, and 32 sessions of chemotherapy, Braylyn Johnson was declared cancer free and rang the bell on Thursday.
The following day, he was given a royal welcome with a first responder motorcade parade leading up to parents, teammates, and general supporters welcoming him to Eastern High School, where a ceremony was then held on the court in his honor.
“I’m just excited to be done with chemo, and excited to be closer to being back on the basketball court and baseball field,” said Johnson.
Braylyn will undergo physical therapy to help strengthen his leg, and the Eagles will look to build on Friday’s first win of the season this upcoming Friday at home against Waterford.