By Anthony Howard
JACKSON, Miss. – Jackson State University senior Jahkee Johnson is set to graduate with his bachelor’s degree in health, physical education, and recreation. The Atlanta native was born with an extremely rare con-genital condition, tibial hemimelia, which causes a newborn’s tibia (shinbone) to be shorter than normal or missing altogether. The medical phenomenon occurs in about one out of every one-million births. It was this medical challenge that pushed Johnson to pursue a profession in therapeutic recreation.
The senior said his recent 14-week internship at Wood Activity and Therapeutic Center in Clinton, Mississippi, confirmed his career path.
“A few months ago, I feared I’d chosen the wrong field, but the internship was a reassurance that this is exactly what I wanted to do,” Johnson explained. “It gave me clarity to see that I actually knew what I was doing. I was able to perform the techniques that I read and studied.”
Due to Johnson’s tibial deficiency, his mother was faced with the difficult decision of allowing her son to spend his entire life in a wheelchair or have his legs amputated. She chose the latter, and Johnson became a double amputee. He said he could not have been happier with the decision.
“It was definitely the right choice. I think it was the best decision she could have ever made for me because I love the way I live and I love this life for me,” Johnson said.
Still, it was not an easy climb. Johnson’s condition forced him to undergo numerous surgeries during his adolescent years. He had his first surgery when he was nine months old and his second in the fourth grade. He had his last surgery as a high school sophomore around the same time he joined his school’s marching band.
“I had to learn how to walk three times and that’s a challenging process of its own. Learning how to walk is very hard,” Johnson shared.
He praised his mother for being uplifting and a positive motivator, always encouraging him. Johnson said she helped him recover faster so that he could continue doing all the activities he loved such as football, basketball, baseball with his friends, and marching in the band.
For mobility, Johnson relies on two sets of prosthetic limbs: one set he uses for his daily routines and another designed for marching and high-physical activity.
“I felt like I had a better chance at getting a scholarship in music and band is where my heart is, but I still plan to work in the sports field,” Johnson said.
One goal he fulfilled was joining Jackson State University’s Sonic Boom of the South in the Spring of 2021. The 22-year-old trombone player, like many current and former members of the Boom, fell in love with the “Summa Cum Laude of Bands” at first sound.
“I saw the band play ‘Get Ready’ many years ago when I was in middle school, and I was stuck,” Johnson recalled. “After hearing it just one time, I decided I would stay up to par with this band and always follow what they were doing. I also had friends who went there [JSU] and told me how it was such a great school.”
Johnson shared that after researching JSU he discovered that the university offered the curriculum that he was passionate about. He was also fond of the campus environment, and given his love for the band, Johnson felt his enrollment at the HBCU was meant to be. The only thing left for him to do was nail the audition.
Johnson had overcome more challenging obstacles in the past, so he was unphased by his virtual Sonic Boom tryout.
“I auditioned for Mr. Kevan Johnson, [associate band director]. I played my scales, my audition piece, and my jazz scales. Toward the end, I told him I had a disability, and he asked if I could still move and do everything the Boom does. I told him yes, and he told me to come on then,” he recalled.
Johnson said the interaction put a massive smile on his face because he had just accomplished a major personal goal, despite his disability.
“He never wanted a hand-out and has always been a go-getter,” said Willard Beatty, Johnson’s former trombone section leader of the Boom. “He always wants to perform at the same standard as everyone else because he knows he’s capable of doing it.”
Beatty said he first noticed Johnson’s drive and potential when they met during band camp in the spring of 2021. He quickly took Johnson under his wing and remained impressed by his growth and demeanor.
Johnson’s leadership abilities allowed him to rise in the ranks of the Kappa Kappa Psi Band Fraternity Incorporated where he served as vice president of the Eta Eta Chapter.
After every Boom performance, Johnson said people approached him to tell him how inspired they are by him.
“It never got old, and it felt like the first time every time I heard it. I honestly forget I have it [tibial hemimelia] sometimes, especially when I’m in competitive mode. Marching was like second nature to me. I’d been doing it since I was in high school, and here it wasn’t that different for me,” he explained.
Johnson admitted to having difficulties with one of the Boom’s iconic maneuvers, the “Tiger Run-On.”
“I did not know how I was going to do that. You can ask anybody at practice. About once a week I’d slip and fall, but I’d rather get it out at practice so I can make the necessary adjustments for gameday,” he said.
Johnson lives by his motto, “The only disability is a disabled mindset,” and he applies that to every aspect of his life. His positive attitude, work ethic, and highly motivated persona has earned him much respect among Sonic Boom fans, peers and administrators.
“As band directors, we have banner students. We have students in our program, and if we could clone that student, we would want all the students in the band program to be like that individual,” said Director of Bands Roderick Little, Ph.D. “He was an example of what a band member is supposed to be. He always gave 100% and kept a positive attitude.”