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SPOTLIGHTS
Blossoming
Butterfly N
May 2016. The next year, she founded Blossoming Butterfly, a nonprofit that financially assists people fighting breast cancer and raises awareness for Story by: Samantha Chery
buckets of ice to try to function,” she
her chest on a January morning
said.
in 2015, but she didn’t think it
There were times where she felt like
was breast cancer.
giving up, but she said the support of
Now, she’s using her story to
her friends and family kept her spirits
improve the lives of those braving
high. She also prayed and fasted.
similar situations.
“I was having a personal
Johnson, who was 32 years old at the
conversation with God, and he
time, had never needed hospitalization
reminded me that ‘You are a caterpillar
or surgery. Despite an extensive family
going through your metamorphosis
history of cancer, she brushed it off and
stage, and when you’re done, you’re
didn’t tell anyone.
going to blossom like a butterfly.’
Then the knot grew. Health care
“I didn’t really understand, but it
professionals thought it was a cyst, but
made me feel better because when
after a biopsy test, Johnson received a
you think about a caterpillar, they’re
call from her surgeon. He confirmed
not the cutest little creatures,” she
what she once denied.
said. “But when you think about the
“Immediately when you hear that
butterfly, how beautiful it is and how
you’re diagnosed with breast cancer,
it’s multiple colors, you’re just in
you think it’s death, and you think it’s
amazement when you see it.”
the worst,” she said.
She was declared free of cancer in
there was no treatment available to specifically target the cancer cells associated with the triple-negative breast cancer she was diagnosed with. Consequently, Johnson had to be treated with Adriamycin, often called the “Red Devil” of chemotherapy. As a result, her hair fell out and her nails turned black. She couldn’t work for nearly a year, which caused her to fall thousands of dollars behind in rent and car payments. “I developed neuropathy in my hands and feet where I couldn’t walk for a week without putting my hands in
SYNERGY MAGAZINE
Since then, Johnson, now 37, has helped five breast cancer patients pay their rent and utility bills. She has also hosted monthly Breast Therapy support groups that serve as a haven
icole Johnson felt the knot on
Unlike other types of breast cancer,
the disease.
for anyone affected by breast cancer. While Johnson is passionate about her work, she said she wants to do more. Insufficient donations and sponsorships have limited Blossoming Butterfly’s marketing efforts and have restricted the organization from completely covering everyday costs for breast cancer patients. In an effort to advance Blossoming Butterfly’s mission, she hosted a fashion show fundraiser called 50 Shades of Pink at the Gainesville Woman’s Club on Oct. 12. The celebration surpassed Johnson’s expectations with about 200 people in attendance. Adrian Miller Sr. said his favorite part of 50 Shades of Pink was “when she said ‘yes.’” Now Johnson’s fiancé, Miller has
