It wasn’t the first time Hanna Johnson had walked the halls of the sixth floor at Boston Children’s Hospital with its familiar fluorescent lighting, Disney characters on the walls and blue floors.
But this time it was different: she wasn’t the patient. She was one of the people taking care of patients.
Johnson was diagnosed with Leukemia at 16 years old.
She knew something was wrong with her. She didn’t feel like herself and had issues like petechiae or tiny spots of blood under her skin. But the cancer diagnosis was shocking.
“I definitely think the days after that were a blur. I don’t really remember probably the next week after that — cause I was sent up to the sixth floor straight from the ER for about a month or so,” Johnson said. “It was kind of like you’re being torn away — but they’re saving your life. So you have to do it.”
Five years into remission, she was selected for the Flynn Foundation’s Oncology Nursing Fellowship over the summer. In an eight-week fellowship program, Johnson — now a senior at Emmanuel College — worked on different floors of the hospital focused on oncology, working alongside some of the very nurses who took care of her.
Lauren Lewis, an inpatient oncology nurse navigator, was one of Johnson’s first nurses following her diagnosis. Now they walk the halls together.
“I knew she would get here. And when I told her this is going to be the worst day of your life, and it’s only going to get better — this is exactly what I meant,” Lewis said.
Given Johnson’s bubbly and driven personality, Lewis said she predicted Johnson would one day be back.
“She’s a very bubbly person. She’s very driven. Even in treatment, she was making friends with her neighbors in the hallway — whether they were her age or not — and she always had such a positive attitude even when things weren’t going well,” Lewis said.
“It’s so nice to see her on the other side and feel like — see, I knew you could do it and you did this all on your own,” Lewis said.
While it was difficult to adjust to 12-hour days and working in the same places Johnson had once been treated, she knew it was worth it to help families and children like she once had been.
“It was very rewarding and very wholesome to be back on the sixth floor because it’s different looking at the patient bed when you’re not a patient and you have the power to help these kids and their families and make their day better,” Johnson said.
Johnson knew she wanted to come back to Boston Children’s Hospital — and onto the sixth floor. She chose Emmanuel College in part because of its nursing program and its location in Boston, a place she knew was a “hot spot” for large hospitals.
Hanna Johnson the day she found she was in remission.Karen Johnson
Her time as a patient at Boston Children’s Hospital was one reason that inspired her to change her plans from becoming a pediatrician to working in pediatric oncology as a nurse.
The sixth floor felt like home. Her nurses became like family and she learned the intricacies of their lives. Her next-door neighbor, Ella, who was 2-and-a-half years old and also diagnosed with Leukemia, became a close friend.
Between Zumba in the resource room to hallways transforming into areas for chaotic and loud playing from a game called Spot It, she remembers mostly the positive things from treatment.
“I don’t remember the bad things because of my nurses. And I think they really have shaped an experience for a child who is diagnosed with cancer,” Johnson said.
Ella is now 7 years old and in remission, Johnson said.
Johnson now works part-time as a clinical assistant at the hospital, working four 12-hour shifts every six weeks — often working nights and weekends on top of school.
Upon graduating from Emmanuel College in May, she plans to become a registered nurse and come right back to the sixth floor.
“That’s my dream job, essentially. I would love to be a nurse helping the kids who were in my position and also working alongside the nurses who helped me,” Johnson said.
