near atlanta – Cheryl Johnson and her TNT sportscaster husband, Ernie, say their lives have been blessed because of a decision they made in 1991.
That's when the Johnsons adopted Michael, a little boy from a Romanian orphanage, and brought him home to Atlanta. After reaching America, Michael was diagnosed with an incurable disease called Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
He also developed a rare, radical obsession with car keys and keys.
“He would hold them in his lap and he would want to have different laps on different days,” Cheryl said. “And when he got sick, and he came on the ventilator, he also talked about the car that Jesus drives. And if you need to know, Jesus drives a red Silverado.”
In October 2021, Michael died at the age of 33Left the world in that shiny red Chevy and left his parents on the side of the road, photographs and the extensive collection in hand that they had treasured.
“I know it's not him, but he held them, he loved them,” Cheryl said.
And Ernie and Cheryl plan to keep that strange collection forever.
“Because I have to have that memory,” Ernie said.
That is, until last month, on the third anniversary of Michael's death, when Cheryl saw a Facebook post from another mom in the neighborhood in which she was looking for “car keys and keys” for her son, who “likes to collect Is.”
Brittany and John Kivett's 6-year-old son Cooper has a developmental disorder called Williams syndrome and about two dozen prominent fobs.
“They're something special to him,” John said.
“Because it's something you can't just go to the store and buy,” Brittany said.
John and Brittany were hoping for a fob or two for Cooper's birthday. But that's not what they got.
“I couldn't believe it,” Brittany said.
Michael's collection, which was so near and dear to his parents, suddenly didn't feel like it belonged to them.
“I know Michael wants to keep Cooper,” Cheryl said.
There is no right way to mourn a child. But for Johnson, giving to others was important.
