Jahkee Johnson, a 16-year-old from Cedar Grove High School, is exceptional and accomplished for many reasons, beyond the fact that he tackles challenges and goal without the help of legs, reports USA Today. When he was born, he was diagnosed with the rare condition called tibial hemimelia. This led his mother to make the decision to amputate his legs, in order to avoid future complications. While it can seem like living without legs would be a difficult life, Jahkee doesn’t think twice about it, never letting this “limitation” hold him back.
Tibial hemimelia is extremely rare, happening in about 1 in every million live births. The disease causes the child to be born without a tibia bone, which causes the feet and ankles to point inward. Treatment options are a case by case situation, but often, the patient has their legs amputated. When his mother Teira Johnson was faced with this decision, it wasn’t easy.
If they hadn’t done the amputation, Jahkee would face years of surgeries and potential complications. Teira believed that amputation at a young age was the best way for him to avoid a life of pain and surgeries. Not to mention, there already is a high possibility of him losing his legs later on in life. When Jakhee turned 9-months-old, the decision was made and he had his legs amputated.
Now Jahkee is an extremely motivated high school student who leads his marching band and doesn’t stop at “no” for anything. He said he would carry two trombone cases until he was on his back, because he just never gives up. Thankfully for Jahkee, he is not in a wheelchair and has prosthetics to get around. At a glance, you wouldn’t know that he had no legs. His future looks bright as he plans to attend college and aspires to be a football coach one day.
His confidence is an inspiration to many! We wish Jahkee the best of luck as he finishes out high school strong and continues on excelling in every which way.
