Adrian Johnson, a senior at Tucker High School, fought for his life before he was even born.
Adrian and his twin brother Adarian were born prematurely after their mother Tonney underwent an emergency surgery due to twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome. The rare and life-threatening condition, which causes the blood exchange between the twins within the placenta to be imbalanced, left Adrian with a weak heart. After 45 days in NICU, doctors discovered a complete heart blockage, and by 15 months, Adrian had his first pacemaker.
For nearly 15 years, Adrian kept his pacemaker a secret, hiding his scar from his peers. But in 2022, he hit a major growth spurt, growing more than six feet tall, and the fast growth caused his pacemaker lead to snap. The family went to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta to get the old pacemaker removed and replaced by Dr. Robert Whitehill.
However, over the next three years, Adrian suffered from low-level inflammation from the leads on the outside of his heart. In January 2025, cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Joshua Rosenblum at Children’s Healthcare removed the wires.
“It was a process trying to get back on my feet, trying to get back to hooping and school,” Adrian told Rough Draft. “…There were moments when I was [scared] but there were moments that I wasn’t, because I knew I was gonna get through it either way.”
Today, Adrian, at 6’7”, is back to playing basketball and looking forward to college. Both he and Adarian will play collegiate ball and plan to major in sports medicine and become physical therapists. The brothers have received multiple college offers but won’t decide where they will go, or if they will go to the same school, until later this summer.
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“Seeing [the twins] now grown up into the men that they are and about to leave and go on and be present and accounted for in this world is absolutely an amazing feeling,” said Tonney, who is grateful to the doctors at Children’s Healthcare for saving her Adrian’s life. “… I think our whole family will forever be supporters of Children’s and the team they have there.”
Congenital heart defects affect about 40,000 births per year in the U.S., and about 1% of people who need pacemakers are children. Adrian hopes to raise awareness for other young people with pacemakers who may be feeling alone.
“There is no shame, we’re all human,” Adrian said. “People don’t even know that I have [a pacemaker] – until now.”
The family said they plan to work with Kids at Heart, a support program at Children’s Healthcare that brings patients with congenital heart defects and their families together to share their experiences and learn about helpful resources. Adrian hopes to do some public speaking engagements with the program to encourage and inspire others.
To kids going through what he went through, he advised to “be yourself.”
“Don’t be nervous to speak up if you’re feeling the type of way that they say,” he said. “They’re going to help you. There’s no reason to be nervous, you’re going to get through it.”