How sportscaster Ernie Johnson and his wife found healing by “unlocking” their late son’s key collection

Near Atlanta — Cheryl Johnson and her TNT sportscaster husband, Ernie, say they’ve had a blessed life, due in no small part to a decision they made back in 1991.

That’s when the Johnsons adopted Michael, a little boy from a Romanian orphanage, and brought him home to Atlanta. Michael was diagnosed with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, an incurable disease, after arriving in the U.S.

He also developed a rare, feverish passion for car keys and key fobs.

“He would hold them in his lap and he would just want different one’s on different days,” Cheryl said. “And when he got sicker, and he got on the ventilator, he even talked about the car that Jesus drives. And if you need to know, Jesus drives a red Silverado.”

In October 2021, Michael died at the age of 33, departing the world in that bright red Chevy and leaving his parents along the side of road, clutching photos and that extensive collection which they have cherished.

“I know it’s not him, but he held them, he loved them,” Cheryl said.

And Ernie and Cheryl planned to hold onto that quirky collection forever. 

“Because I have to have that memory,” Ernie said.

That is, until last month, on the third anniversary of Michael’s death, when Cheryl saw a Facebook post from another mom in the neighborhood looking for “car keys and key fobs” for her son who “LOVES to collect.”

Brittany and John Kivett’s 6-year-old son Cooper has a developmental disorder called Williams syndrome and about a couple dozen key fobs.

“They’re something special to him,” John said.

“Because that’s something you can’t just go to the store and buy,” Brittany added.

John and Brittany were hoping for one or two fobs for Coopers birthday. But that’s not what they got.

“I just couldn’t even believe it,” Brittany said.

Michael’s collection, that was so near and dear to his parents, suddenly didn’t feel like it belonged to them at all.

“I know this is Michael wanting Cooper to have them,” Cheryl said.

There’s no right way to mourn a child. But for the Johnsons, giving to others was key.

Steve Hartman

Steve Hartman is a CBS News correspondent. He brings viewers moving stories from the unique people he meets in his weekly award-winning feature segment “On the Road.”