Cancer Survivor Lydia Johnson Joins Water Polo at 14

Lydia Johnson looks like any other water polo player at Sierra High School, but the scars beneath her swim cap tell a different story.

At just eight months old, Lydia was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia after doctors discovered she had Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, a rare genetic disorder that affects only 300 babies each year. What should have been a one-month hospital stay turned into a fight for survival.

On April 13, 2012, sepsis caused Lydia's heart to stop for three minutes. Her mom Sharon faced an impossible choice: let her daughter go or try a risky procedure that could cause a brain bleed. Sharon chose one more day with her daughter.

Lydia survived that night. Two months later, a severe allergic reaction to chemotherapy caused her face and tongue to swell, threatening her breathing. Later that fall, she developed spinal meningitis after a routine procedure.

Each time, doctors weren't sure she'd make it. Each time, Lydia proved them wrong.

Between ages 8 and 10, Lydia found something in her room she barely remembered: her Beads of Courage. Every procedure, hospital stay, and part of her treatment was represented by a different colored bead, enough to stretch across her entire room.

Sharon explained the story behind each one. Lydia started remembering her first friend at the hospital, Lammi, who died at age 3. She remembered meeting her hero, Doc McStuffins, at Disney World through Make-A-Wish. Most importantly, she remembered March 13, 2014, her final day of treatment.

Why This Inspires

Finding those beads changed how Lydia saw her future. Life was too short to sit back and watch, so she decided to try water polo despite her asthma, cognitive effects, and scars.

Her older brother Erik had been encouraging her for years. The summer before freshman year, she finally said yes.

Coach Lauren Koury didn't learn Lydia's story until a parent meeting when Sharon wrote about her daughter's cancer survival on a questionnaire. As Koury got to know the family, she realized what Lydia's presence meant. "We're so immersed in the X's and O's that we forget to think about the people behind them," Koury said.

Now a sophomore, Lydia uses her second chance to inspire her teammates. "I'm grateful that I've been given another chance at life," she said. "My faith in Jesus means everything to me because if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be standing here today."

Every time Lydia dives into the pool, she's living proof that miracles happen.