VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WVEC) — Three-year-old David Johnson has bravery built into his name.
“He was named after King David in The Bible,” says his mother, Christina Johnson.
“[King David] loved to dance and praise God. [David] is the same way. He loves the drums. He loves music. Anything that has a rhythm to it, he loves to do."
But every now and again, even a king needs help adjusting his crown.
“He had cancer,” says Christina. “His cancer was his Goliath.”
"Fighting for King David" is a story about the courageous toddler. At 19 months old, David was diagnosed with neuroblastoma — a cancer that is often found in the adrenal glands and commonly affects young children.
“At a year old … he’ll have the spirit to run. But we have to say, ‘No, David, you can’t run,’” says Christina. "That’s not a usual situation for a mother to say that [her child] can’t play.”
This past July, David finished cancer treatment. Since then, Christina has relished even the small things that mean her son is in remission: “Things as simple as tying David’s shoe, instead of wearing hospital socks, was just exciting to me,” Christina says.
"Fighting for King David" isn’t written from David’s point of view but instead through the eyes of his mother, Christina.
After she and David faced so many obstacles during his treatment, Christina wrote the book to help others who love and support children with cancer.
“It was difficult for me to tell [David] that he can’t do certain things. He can’t jump up and down. He can’t go crawling underneath the table, because he has this long IV pole attached to him,” Christina says.
“It’s like he had no freedom. I felt like he was attached to this disease. I’m hoping that caregivers will express themselves [after reading the book] … let the world know what you’re going through. Don’t be afraid to let them know that you’re scared, you’re angry, that you’re upset. It’s completely normal.”
Christina also launched Chrissy’s Designs, a line of custom T-shirts aimed at helping children with cancer spread awareness of their illness. “[The T-shirt] lights them up,” says Christina. “And they’re just amazed because now, their name is on it. Now, it’s their T-shirt. So now, they can make a statement without saying anything.”
Through these efforts, this mother and son have a simple message — no matter how hard the fight, the journey is always better together.
To learn more about the book Fighting for King David, click here.
To learn more about Chrissy’s Designs, visit www.crissysdesigns.com.