Angels Aboard: In Memory of Caden Stephen Johnson

You know Caden Johnson and his brother Ethan are beloved just by the way their mother Yoli talks about their toys.

"That’s actually not Thomas the Train," she explains gently to a friend who is admiring the bright blue figurine in two-year-old Ethan’s hand. "That only looks like him. Actually, it is Edward. Edward comes with a coal car."

It is the kind of distinction only the most caring, invested parents would make--and Yoli took the time to make it at one of the most difficult times in her life.

The actual Thomas the Train sits in the adjoining room, perched on the rim of an impossibly tiny blue casket. In it rests Ethan’s twin brother Caden, a dark cap of hair feathering his pale forehead.

Caden Stephen Johnson succumbed suddenly to an undetected brain tumor on November 23. He was two years old.

Caden’s death followed two weeks of illness, an illness explained by Yoli’s pediatrician as a stomach problem. There were no other symptoms. In the end, Yoli and her husband Brandon learned the brain tumor that took their son’s life was inoperable.

Such knowledge is not enough, of course. The pain is raw and thrashing and unrelenting. The only comfort is that tests confirm that Ethan--who may share DNA identical to Caden--is not at risk.

Despite its tragic ending, Caden’s short life was idyllic, filled with joy and love.

He was a darling baby and a cherubic, unstoppable toddler. Caden gleefully splashed in the backyard pool with Ethan, created seismic waves in the bathtub and spread chocolate cake around his highchair tray like a young Picasso. He adored Thomas the Train, of course, but vehicles of all types fascinated him--cars, trucks, cranes and cement mixers all made him happy.

So, too, did his family. They made him very happy.

His affection for his twin, his parents, other family and friends is apparent in photos as Caden reaches chubby little arms towards them, eyes sparkling.

While we all desperately wish there was more time for creating memories with Caden, we are thankful for those that we do have. And as hard as it is to let go, we recognize he is in safe arms, in a beautiful place surrounded by the same kind of love he received at home. He will be well cared for and deeply cherished.

In my heart of hearts, I also happen to know that there are a lot of shiny blue trains in Heaven. And my guess is that even the littlest of angels are allowed to ride them.

-Julie Riekse