1981-1982 Yearbook

Kevin Martin - Bloomington, IN Thomas Martin - Vincennes, IN Tod Martin - Houston, TX Ronald Mashburn - N. Little Rock , AR Terry Massey - San Antonio, TX Elizabeth Matheny· Kenia , OH Julia Mathews - Jenks, OK Jadie Matthews · Corning, AR Jere Matthews - Memphis, TN Richard Mays· Milan, TN John McCain· Lakewood, CO William McCaughan · Anchorage, AK Todd McCullough · Columbus, OH Rhonda McElwain· Dallas, TX Jeffry McGee - Dallas, TX Jay McGinness· Freeport , IL Jeriel McGinness · Freeport , IL Valerie McHand . Memphis, TN Danny McKinney· Englewood, TN Kevin McKisson . Phoenix , AZ Randy McKnight · Humboldt , TN /Spotl ightl Cravens Credits Miraculous Recovery to Prayer _ eddie Cagle 168 · Sophomores DETERMINA TION Is JOhnny's philosophy - whether in a game of ping pong or In Ufe. With his newly growing hair he looks like he might be a freshman football player, ex· cept for the horseshoe·shaped scar on the left side of his head. He had a 20 percent chance to live, and if he did, he would be a v'lgetable. He proved those pre· dictions wrong. His name is Johnny Cravens, and last sum· mer he underwent surgery for the removal of the largest brain tumor ever seen in Memphis. Johnny, 19, a sophomore from Jonesboro, had carried the tumor since childhood; he may have been born with it. The tumor has caused problems most of his life. "When I jogged," he said, "My head would throb. It felt like blood was just going up and down in my head when I quit jogging. I'd have sweat drops that looked like blood because they were so big. I just thought everybody did after they got finished run· ning." He also walked with a limp since he was seven months old. "No one ever suspected (a tumor), because I never do com· plain when I'm hurting. I guess it's because I've been in f09tball all these years, and I'm used to taking pain." Johnny's problems began to get worse during the fall of 1980 after he was injured In a club football game. "I was go· ing against these juniors or seniors and I didn't know when to quit. I'd knocked two of them down in a row and I hit 'em with my head. I knocked them down, but I paid for it." He was playing tackle, the same position he played In high school. He considered playing at Harding, he said, "but I decid· ed I didn't want to have my head shaved." He paused and grin· ned, adding, "didn't have any choice this yearl" After suggestions that he see a doctor, Johnny did, and was told that he had a concussion. No X·rays were taken, even though he told the doctor that he thought he had a brain tumor. His behavior had changed. He was "turning into a different person, a different personality," he said. "I'd had these spells where I'd act goofy and so weird, things like carry boxes on my head. I just thought, "That's not me, and there's something controlling me." An A and B student during the fall of 1980, he was making C's and D's in the spring of 1981. A good artist, his work for an art class progressively worsened. He began to see double. Johnny went to a doctor and was sent to Memphis, where he

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc5NA==