MC Doctoral Student Brad Johns is Cystic Fibrosis Hero of Hope

Brad Johns

Brad Johns juggles many challenges as a McLaurin High math teacher, devoted family man, and Mississippi College education doctoral student who’s battled cystic fibrosis since childhood.

Johns, who lives in Magee with his wife, Jana, and three children, also serves as a children’s minister at Calvary Baptist Church in Braxton.

For the many obstacles the Mississippi teacher has faced for decades, Johns recently received the national Heroes of Hope Living with Cystic Fibrosis award. His story is currently featured on its website.

Usually cystic fibrosis causes problems with both the respiratory and digestive systems. Most people are diagnosed with cystic fibrosis before they are one-year-olds, and soon after his birth, Johns became very sick. But he’s fought the disease for most of his life with a combination of medicines, home treatment, eating healthy foods, exercise and God’s help.

“My faith has played a big role in my fight against cystic fibrosis,” Johns said. “There is a line in the movie “Courageous” that speaks about tragedy happening to people. The pastor makes the comment that people who experience tragedy have a more intimate relationship with God due to the experience.”

That’s how Johns feels when it comes to his faith. “Trusting in God is not an option for me,” he says. “I have to trust that He will walk with me each day and take care of me and my family as we go through each day together, no matter what happens that day.”

The cost of fighting the disease is also a major challenge for the 40-year-old teacher in the Rankin County public schools. “It is extremely expensive for people to manage their disease properly. At times, it is overwhelming.”

But he says God has provided funds to battle the disease as well as finding private scholarships to advance his education. “I am very confident in the fact that He will find the rest of the money that it will take for me to finish my doctoral degree here at Mississippi College,” Johns said.

His attitude of hard work and the ability to overcome obstacles in his path impresses his McLaurin High colleagues and Mississippi College professors. A “Clarion-Ledger” story this week by reporter Marquita Brown tells readers statewide about the teacher’s successes, amid daily struggles with his disease.

He’s an inspiring teacher who’s attitude is that of a determined man who never quits. “I don’t give up,” Johns tells Mississippi’s biggest newspaper.

“Brad is among the finest teachers that I have had the chance to work with during my teaching career which spans 28 years,” says Kris Morris, McLaurin High’s Science Department chairman.

 “As a fellow faculty member, Brad is receptive and inspiring. When a sniffle or a sore throat gets us down, all we have to do is see Brad with his IV medicine in his pocket – what an inspiration! He is at school and working hard to be a role model for his students every day! He is quick to offer to pray for you and your family,” Morris says.

The mathematics department chairman at McLaurin High near Florence, Johns starts his day at 4:30 a.m. to do his cystic fibrosis breathing treatments, well before classes start at 7:20 a.m. He also does his treatments after work. Classes at Baptist-affiliated Mississippi College in Clinton add to his busy life, but he cherishes his School of Education classes twice a week.

“I truly love going to MC,” Johns says. “It is one of the best decisions I have ever made. I can’t imagine leaving MC to go to another university.”

Johns is among the first class of MC doctoral students in educational leadership with a concentration in curriculum and instruction.

“He is an exceptional young man in many areas – he is a strong Christian who models his values and beliefs,” says MC education professor Tommye Henderson. “He is a devoted father and husband, he is a dedicated, effective math teacher, and he is an exemplary, focused student.”

His contributions during classroom discussions and in written assignments are always outstanding, says the former Clinton public schools superintendent. “He has never used his health challenge as an excuse.”

Johns has come to class looking tired and feeling less than his best at times, Henderson said. “He is an inspiration to his colleagues, as well as, to his professors.”

The McLaurin teacher expects to complete his Mississippi College classes in July 2012 and then write his dissertation.

Johns gives much of the credit to his wife, Jana. “Juggling all of this with family responsibilities is very difficult. I could not do any of this without the help of my wife.”

The Magee couple stays busy with twins Justin and Elyzabeth, who turn six in April, and a 10-year-old son, Josh. One of the problems with cystic fibrosis is that it’s very difficult for men with the disease to father children. He and his wife turned to in vitro fertilization and the couple had their son Josh in 2001.

Thoughts of his loving Mississippi family come to mind when it’s time for him to take daily cystic fibrosis treatments. “If I don’t do my treatments, then I’m not only cheating myself – I’m cheating my family.”

Living with cystic fibrosis and being a teacher is definitely hard work, Brad Johns says, “but the reward of helping a child makes it all worth it.”

Over the years, Johns has spent much time at Mississippi College building his credentials as an educator. He received his bachelor's degree in mathematics in 1994, and a master's in mathematics education in 2005, both from MC. He earned a specialist degree in education leadership in 2010 from the Christian university in Clinton.