Is Alex Johnston okay? Youngest '7 Little Johnstons' star battles death rumors
TLC's famous reality series '7 Little Johnstons' follows the lives of the seven little people in the Johnston family, hailing from Georgia. The family shares a genetic disorder called achondroplasia dwarfism.
Trent and Amber Johnston are the parents of the five kids, and Jonah and Elizabeth are their biological children. Anna, Alex, and Emma were adopted from different countries. The Johnstons have had multiple health issues related to their dwarfism. The youngest of the lot, Alex Johnston, was diagnosed in 2017 with central sleep apnea.
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In one episode on the show, Alex's doctor told the family that his condition was caused by brain stem compression, but that wasn’t Alex's first health scare.
Six months before the diagnosis, Alex had surgery to have his tonsils and adenoids removed, as part of an underlying health problem. At the time, Amber said, “Our hope was that this was going to fix everything, however that has not been the case."
“Obviously our anatomy is different than average size people,” she added. “The base of our skull where the brain stem meets the spinal cord, the bone that surrounds that area is always extremely tight."
In addition, their physician went on to explain why Alex has been experiencing the problem on a recurring basis. The doctor said, “When this happens, the bottom of the skull, this narrowing puts pressure on the brain stem." He added, “When we need to breathe, this is what tells our body to take a breath. So when there is pressure on this area, it malfunctions."
Prior to the surgery, Amber said that she would lay down her whole life for her son, just like any mother would in such a predicament. Although Trent and Amber knew that surgery was necessary, they constantly worried about something going wrong.
A report by The List mentioned that Alex has been through a lot since the beginning. He's had a rather difficult adoption process, a scary brain surgery, and several more medical scares to top it all of.
Presently, Alex Johnston seems to be living his best life as a high school student. As per the family's joint Instagram account, he celebrated his school's homecoming week along with Emma Johnston and the rest of their classmates.
Season 11 of '7 Little Johnstons' airs on March 15, 2022, on TLC.