My Quiet Fight for Home

Born profoundly deaf in one ear and about 50 percent HoH in the other, Johnnie suffered a fall at four years old. That fall resulted in his spending six years pinballing from hospital to hospital, enduring painful surgeries attempting to save his leg. As a result, he had no chance to develop basic communication skills until he entered Deaf school at age thirteen. One of his teachers there was Dr. McCay Vernon.

It was at Deaf school that he developed interests in sports, math and science, and...