He's one of a kind
Compassionate teen who refuses to let disability slow him down is honored.

By C. Ron Allen
South Florida Sun-Sentinel

He was born with Blount's disease, a growth disorder of the shinbone that causes the lower legs to bow inward.

As a child, Breon Johnson couldn't play football, basketball or even ride a skateboard like other boys his age."It was a very painful experience," recalls Johnson, 17, a senior at Piper High School. "It makes you ask yourself, `Why did I get this card to play in my life?'"

After two surgeries, which confined him to a wheelchair for more than a year and required him to learn to walk again, Johnson shares his experience to help motivate his peers.

He doesn't let an opportunity pass to encourage others to give their best in class, his teachers and peers said.

"He is very helpful in the classroom and to his fellow classmates when working on team activities," said Barbara Dodson, the sponsor for the Academy of Finance Club, one of the school clubs to which Johnson belongs.

"Breon never misses an opportunity to help someone or provide an encouraging word when needed. He is helpful, thoughtful, caring, compassionate, and considerate, the perfect example of kindness."

Wadner Charles, a junior, agrees. "He had to stay on my case so I could get my grades up," said Charles, 16, of Lauderhill. "I was struggling in math, and he helped me get a tutor.

He also helped me in my English class. He is just a wonderful person, and I love him for that."

Regardless of how dismal a situation is, Johnson tries to look on the bright side and takes full advantage of life, his teacher said.

At times, Johnson said, the physical therapy was difficult."I was ready to give up but people kept pushing me," he said.

The big push came from a member of his church, Mt. Nebo Baptist in Fort Lauderdale.

"They said everything you're going through will make you a better person in life ... build character," said Johnson, who recently was named a South Florida Sun-Sentinel Kid of Character for kindness in a program that recognizes students in the Broward County school system. "I took that to heart and started pushing myself even more. If they told me to take two steps, I'd take four steps."

He refuses to let his disability deter him. A tenor with the school's Inspirational Choir, he also is an active member of the Horizon Club, a service club on campus. They sponsored a Halloween party for residents at a nursing home and recently held a talent show. They plan to donate a portion of the proceeds to charity, he said.

Louis Evans, a custodian at Piper High, was hopeful throughout his grandson's ordeal that he would one day walk. Each time he visited Johnson in the hospital and even during therapy, Evans kept encouraging him.

"We did a lot of praying and we kept telling him that we were rooting for him," Evans said.

Today Johnson gets around with a cane.

The sky is the limit, he said with his trademark smile.

"You can do anything you put your mind to," he said. "There's no one holding you back but yourself."

This is one in a series of stories on students who best exemplify the Broward County School District's eight character education traits -- cooperation, responsibility, citizenship, kindness, respect, honesty, self-control and tolerance -- and patriotism as part of all eight.

C. Ron Allen can be reached at crallen@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7917.