John and Amy Find Ways to Say
Thank You to the Caregivers Who Gave Him Back His Life

“You’re never ready to hear something like that,” says John Johnson about his cancer diagnosis.

Especially not if you’re a healthy, 49-year-old, multi-sport athlete who eats right and takes good care of himself. But that’s what his doctor told him in 2014 after an appendectomy revealed signs of colorectal cancer.

Originally from the Midwest, John and Amy Johnson have lived in Oxford for more than 20 years—ever since Sikorsky Aircraft made him an offer that was too exciting to pass up.

“Sikorsky offered me a job in flight test—flying in the back of a helicopter as an engineer,” John says. “There was no way I’d turn that down! I’ve been in Connecticut ever since.”

Amy soon followed. She has been at Yale New Haven Health since 1999, where she is currently an application specialist. Their son CJ is a junior in high school. They love traveling as a family—hiking, kayaking, skiing and off-roading together.

Things were pretty ideal until that appendectomy. Then their world changed. John’s health became the priority—and in seeking out the very best care available, they found themselves at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale New Haven.

“There was no question Smilow was the right decision,” says Amy. “We looked at other top locations, but they all reassured us that we would get the top, most current treatment right here.”

After seven years, five surgeries, two dozen radiation treatments and more than 100 chemotherapy treatments (and counting), John’s health has stabilized. In fact, “Amy says I’m the healthiest cancer patient she’s ever known,” says John.

Amy and John wanted to find meaningful ways to thank the caregivers at Smilow who have provided such compassionate care. And when John’s grandmother passed away, leaving a small inheritance, they found their opportunity. “The whole family got together and decided to donate the money to the hospital that cared for me,” says John.

They established the John & Amy Johnson Family Fund to Support Colorectal Cancer as a permanent endowment fund and set up a bequest—a gift in their will—to ensure support for the hospital in the future.

Now, when friends and family ask—“How can I help?”—Amy and John have a ready answer. “We tell them to make a gift to the John & Amy Johnson Family Fund to support Colorectal Cancer,” says Amy.

“It gives them an avenue to help,” adds John. “It makes them feel good to donate.”