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Johanna Johnson, 16, stood amid the New York Philharmonic holding her new oboe, sharing applause with one of the world's greatest orchestras. It was her dream come true, and a far cry from the nightmare she'd been living through for months.
It started in April 1999 when Johanna complained to her parents about a stiff neck and showed them a small bump. At first the doctor thought it wasn't serious. It was.
"I was lying on my bed; my mom was on the phone when the doctor called and said it was Hodgkin's," Johanna recalls. "The doctor said I'd have to start chemotherapy, and then I realized, this is serious."
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