When 15-year-old Jordan Johnson was struck by a baseball during a game in June 2020, he never imagined the hit would end up saving his life.
 

After the injury, Jordan’s parents Jeff and Ivette took him to Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt to make sure everything was okay. They were shocked when a scan revealed that Jordan had a giant cerebral cavernous malformation — that is, an abnormal grouping of small blood vessels inside of his brain stem. The lesion had likely been there since birth, gradually growing over time — and by the time Jordan suffered the hit, the lesion had reached a critical size. The options were to continue to let it grow, with the possibility of life-threatening rupture, or to remove it with a high-risk surgery.
 

“We are so thankful that we had this world-class hospital and surgeon right in our backyard.” — Ivette Johnson, Jordan’s Mom

Because the lesion was inside the brain stem, a major concern was Jordan’s ability to move and communicate. His parents say their biggest questions were, “Are we going to get our Jordan back? The Jordan he was before surgery?”

After researching the best programs in the country, the Johnsons decided that the neurosurgery team at Children's Hospital, led by John C. (Jay) Wellons III, MD, MSPH, was the right choice.

“We were just a typical family with a typical life,” said Jordan’s dad Jeff. “Our lives consisted of travel ball, school band performances and family vacations to Disney World. We would have never believed that our son would ever have to have brain surgery.”

Jordan’s condition required an eight-hour brain surgery, followed by two weeks of recovery in the hospital. After that, he began his journey to rehabilitation — he would have to relearn everything, from how to eat to how to walk. Throughout the healing process, Jordan grew especially close to Dr. Wellons, who performed his surgery. As Chief of the Division of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Dr. Wellons was awarded the inaugural Cal Turner Chair in Pediatric Neurosurgery in 2020.

“Jordan is an inspiring young man,” said Dr. Wellons. “He has handled a very challenging diagnosis and recovery with grit and determination." Now a year out from surgery, Jordan is home and receiving outpatient physical therapy. “I think I’m doing great because after surgery, I couldn’t even brush my teeth, and now I can solve my Rubik’s cube," said Jordan. “My goal is to walk on my own and play sports again, and I know that with hard work, I can do anything.”

“We are so thankful that we had this world-class hospital and surgeon right in our backyard,” said Jordan’s mom, Ivette. “Because of that, we have our Jordan back. We were recently able to celebrate his sixteenth birthday, and we’ll get to watch him graduate, go to college and be whatever he wants to be.”