Support Noah Johnson

Hello Ballard Community! I have seen this community come together in the past to help out families in need, and unfortunately there is another family in need of our help and support. Noah Johnson will be a Junior at Ballard this fall and his parents are Brandy Johnson and Jerrod Johnson. Noah is currently in the hospital, and here is his mom's story from the past few weeks.

At the end of June, Noah was bitten by a spider. What started as a small wound quickly turned serious. Within just a few days, the bite became infected. After visiting multiple doctors and even the emergency room, he was sent home with antibiotics. But things got worse.

Noah was soon admitted to Mary Greeley Medical Center, where we learned he had a MRSA infection — a dangerous and fast-spreading bacterial infection. He underwent emergency surgery to remove multiple infected pockets throughout his body. Within 24 hours, his condition became critical. His kidneys began to fail.

He was urgently transferred to Blank Children’s Hospital in Des Moines, where he was admitted to the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU). Since then, Noah has been receiving daily dialysis. At one point, doctors had to remove more than three gallons of fluid from his body to relieve the strain on his organs.

Right now, Noah is fighting. Some days, we see hopeful signs — but those good numbers can quickly reverse. His kidneys are still not functioning, and he will continue dialysis with the hope that they recover. On top of that, he will need another surgery soon, as some of his original surgical sites have become infected again and additional infection pockets have appeared.

Noah has a long road ahead. He is a brave, strong kid, and we’re doing everything we can to help him heal.

We are incredibly grateful for the outpouring of love: the prayers, messages, and calls from friends, family, and our community have lifted us up during some of the darkest days. We ask for your continued prayers and good thoughts.

-Brandy Johnson