Seminole mayor doing well after lung transplant surgery

SEMINOLE - Mayor Jimmy Johnson is doing well after lung transplant surgery.

"He is doing fabulous," said Virginia Spencer, his fiance. "He couldn't be doing better....Everything went as expected. He's doing beautifully, beautifully."

Johnson, 65, is suffering from pulmonary fibrosis, a fatal condition caused by scarring of the lungs. Doctors told him last December that a lung transplant was his only hope. They placed him on a waiting list for a lung.

"He got the call at 6 a.m.," Spencer said. "We flew over the Howard Franklin....He didn't even have a chance to think about it. He got the call and we were (on our way)."

Spencer said Johnson was taken into the operating suite about 9:30 a.m. and came out this afternoon. She has twice visited him since Johnson came out of the recovery room.

"His color's good," she said. "His vital signs are good."

If all goes well, Johnson will be in the intensive care unit for two to three days and in the hospital for another week.

"So he should be home in about 10 days," Spencer said. "If I had not heard it from the surgeon personally, I would not have believed it myself."

Johnson, an immensely popular figure in Seminole area, was elected mayor last March after a short stint on the Seminole City Council. Soon after his election to the mayor's seat, he developed a cough that did not go away. Doctors at first thought he had bronchitis, but last December a specialist diagnosed pulmonary fibrosis. The progressive scarring of the disease interferes with breathing. They told him he needed a double-lung transplant and placed him on a waiting list.

The next couple of months were a roller coaster of emotions for Johnson. Subsequent tests found spots in his digestive system. Those were declared benign. Then, last month, doctors found spots on his liver and yanked him off the wait list. They put him back on the list Feb. 21 when the spots were found to be benign.

Doctors told Johnson it could take years for a compatible set of lungs to be found. Last month, Johnson estimated his wait would be about six months. But, about 10 days after being put back on the waiting list, a lung was found. It is unclear why he got only one lung.

Johnson has said he plans to continue in his positions as executive director of the Seminole Chamber of Commerce and as Seminole mayor. The city has already checked the law and made plans to have him electronically connected to council meetings until he is able to be present in the room.

Johnson has been forthcoming about his health, saying he wanted to emulate such figures as former first lady Betty Ford, who used their illness as ways to enlighten the public. In Johnson's case, he has said he wants to urge people to become organ donors.

When news of Johnson's condition broke, he received calls from well wishers across the country. He was praised for his cheerful demeanor and positive outlook. Those are characteristics Johnson took into the operating room with him, Spencer said.

"He's in really good spirits," she said. "He is so grateful for a chance at a new life."

- Anne Lindberg, Times Staff Writer