Seminole mayor needs lung transplant
By Anne Lindberg, Times Staff Writer
Published February 15, 2008
SEMINOLE - Doctors have told Mayor Jimmy Johnson that he needs a double lung transplant, but other health issues could keep him from having the lifesaving operation.
Doctors diagnosed Johnson in December with pulmonary fibrosis, a fatal lung condition, and put him on a waiting list for new lungs while they conducted more tests to make sure he is otherwise in good health. The better a recipient's health, the more likely the transplant will succeed.
Johnson had a close call earlier this year when doctors discovered spots in his intestinal system, but they were benign and he was left on the wait list for the lungs.
Then, this week, doctors found spots on Johnson's liver and yanked him off the wait list. They will perform further tests Monday. If the spots are benign, he will go back on the list.
But "if that liver comes back severely damaged, or they find something severely wrong, I'm really in trouble," Johnson said.
Johnson, 65, is a well-known and popular figure in the Seminole area. He is executive director of the Seminole Chamber of Commerce. He was in his second term as a council member when he was appointed mayor in late 2006 when Dottie Reeder resigned to run for the state House. Johnson won his first election as mayor in March. Soon after, he developed "a really bad cough." He saw a doctor who treated him for bronchitis, but the cough persisted.
Johnson began seeing specialists and in December was diagnosed with pulmonary fibrosis, a condition that is marked by progressive scarring of the lung tissue. The scarring interferes with the victim's ability to breathe.
Pulmonary fibrosis can be caused by such things as smoking, exposure to asbestos, or metal dust. But the California-based Coalition for Pulmonary Fibrosis says that most cases, like Johnson's, have no known cause.
"I never heard of it. I had no idea what they were talking about," Johnson said. "It's just one of those crazy diseases that unfortunately, for some reason, hit me."
Despite the uncertainty facing him, Johnson was his usual cheerful, upbeat self Thursday, saying he wants to let people know what is happening to him so they'll know the importance of becoming an organ donor. He has no plans to resign his position as mayor or as executive director of the chamber.