BUDD LAKE — little Joey Johnson, his arms and legs thin for a toddler, lies on a couch in his Budd Lake living room, aware he is sick and hurting, unaware he has become the inspiration for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people, people who have never seen him. His half-lidded eyes track visitors and he offers a weak, “Hello.”
One of Joey’s frequent visitors is Marcie Furlong, an executive with AON, who doesn’t have the time to do much else beyond working and caring for her family, including four young children, ages two to 10. Yet she has somehow found the time for Joey and his family.
“I’ve never done anything like this before, never had this kind of experience,” says Furlong, 38, who lives in Denville.
She heard about Joey from a neighbor, contacted his parents Joe and Michele Johnson, and became a leading voice for the beleaguered family trying to cope, not just with the demands of Joey’s overwhelming illness, but also with more practical issues, like how to pay for expenses not covered by insurance, including frequent stays in New York City while Joey receives chemotherapy at New York University’s Langone Medical Center.
“I’ve never met a family with so much hope and so much faith,” says Furlong, who runs the Joey Johnson Fund. “It makes you want to do something for them, for Joey.”
The little boy was diagnosed with brain cancer shortly after Thanksgiving last year. His story first appeared here four months ago and, in a matter of days, the fund’s post office box was jammed with nearly a thousand letters, many of them containing cash and checks. The contributions are still coming in, nearly $20,000 so far, Furlong says.
“We received one contribution of $500 — and another of one dollar that came with a letter of apology,” she says. “People are so kind.”
What happened to the Johnsons spurred dozens of fund-raisers, including concerts and a motorcycle rally that raised more than $10,000. The Johnsons can’t keep track of all the events — and they confess to feeling awkward to be receiving so much.
“We’re more fortunate than most,’” says Michele. Joe, 32, a former Marine combat veteran in Iraq, is a Stanhope policeman with good health benefits and compassionate colleagues who donated their time off so he could stay home for six months with Joey. Still, their expenses mount — and could get much higher — as they seek effective treatments for their son.
Joe has gone back to work. Michele, 31, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, says she “forgot” about her own treatments while she took care of Joey and now has difficulty walking. Her mother, Martha Zelasny of Succasunna, gave up her own job to be with the family.
The little boy is on his third treatment protocol at NYU. The first two failed to eliminate the cancer but the last scans show his condition remains “stable.” The family is worried that problems removing fluids from his brain might require surgery — and that would mean taking Joey off treatment, perhaps for as long as a month.
“We don’t know what will happen if he misses treatments for that long,” says Joe. “We’re afraid the cancer might begin to grow again.”
Joey faces tests Monday to determine whether the surgery is necessary. Michele says what she wants more than money are the prayers of those who believe they are effective. a devout Catholic, she prays repeatedly for her son. she keeps a plastic bag filled slips of paper on which are written prayers sent in by strangers. The letters she cherishes the most are those from other parents who believe their children were saved by prayer.
“We’re doing everything we can, the doctors are doing everything they can, so now it’s up to God, really,” says Michele. “We really believe Joey will be our miracle.”
The Johnson’s faith drew a lot of the response to their son’s story. Many readers sent Mass cards and promises to pray for the little boy.
“There’s just something about this family, and that little boy,” says Furlong. their story changed her life, she says. In 1999, a close relative was killed in a car accident. she remembers losing her faith and tearing a religious medal from her neck, throwing it away. a so-called Miraculous Medal, familiar to all Catholics. “I was done with God,” she says.
But, the other day, while she sits by Joey and leans over to kiss him, a new medal can be seen, dangling from a chain around her neck.
“Because of Joey,”she says.
The family can be contacted at Joey Johnson Fund, c/o Marcie Furlong, PO Box 389, Denville, NJ 07834. Michele blogs about Joey on www.caringbridge.org/visit/joeyjjohnson.
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Braun: As 3-year-old fights brain cancer, strangers support family
