HIGH POINT, N.C. — The Triad's most heartwarming story has an update.
You may remember Johnny Van Kemp, a man from Summerfield who beat cancer three different times during his childhood.
Well, he is wrapping up the fall semester of his second year at High Point University where he studies business, with exams just around the corner.
The best news?
"He is healthy and happy, which is what we always pray for," wrote the Van Kemp family. We couldn't have said it better ourselves.
On Monday, Nov. 21, Van Kemp had his bi-monthly medical checkup, and his blood counts were perfect. The good news came just in time for Thanksgiving celebrations.
Van Kemp even got to see one of his favorite nurses on her last day before she retired.
" Johnny hugged and thanked her for literally helping to save his life. There were tears of joy as we referred to her as one of his 'Angels on Earth'," wrote the Van Kemp family on Facebook. "What words do you use to thank someone for helping to save your son's life?
The Van Kemp family ended their update with a photo of Johnny standing at the top of a mountain that he climbed while he was on fall break.
"I immediately thought of the many other meanings associated with it standing on that summit, that Johnny has figuratively and courageously climbed a mountain over the past 11 years, that God has blessed him with great health, and that Johnny has opened his arms to accept the path that God has laid out for his future," wrote the Van Kemp family.
We are so happy to hear such an amazing update about Johnny Van Kemp.
WFMY News 2 began covering Van Kemp's fight with cancer in 2012 when he was 8 years old. After his Leukemia diagnosis, there was an outpouring of support for the "Iron Man of Summerfield."
We were there for the highs, like when he went into remission for the first time in 2015.
There were also lows. His cancer came back twice.
Johnny's parents relied on their faith, praying their son would get better.
"With each relapse, the ability to heal our son with traditional therapies got harder and harder," Van Kemp's father, John, told us in 2022.
In 2019, his family sought a groundbreaking therapy in Pennsylvania. After seven weeks, he returned home to friends and family greeting him outside the home.
Four years later, he remains in remission.