Magic Johnson Cured?

April 1, 1997

Cookie Johnson has always believed in Magic. That’s why, just two days after she learned she was pregnant with their son and Magic walked into their den and told her that he was infected with the virus that causes AIDS, Cookie didn’t even think about leaving him. Though she’d only been married to Earvin (Magic) Johnson for less than a year, the thought never once crossed Cookie’s mind. There was too much between them, she said at the time–too much love, too many dreams, too much history.

by LAURA B. RANDOLPH
Ebony, April 1997

“The love that we built up over [14 years of dating] is what I hold on to,” she said shortly after Johnson shocked the nation when he announced in 1991 that tests for an insurance policy revealed he was infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. “There’s no way that I was going to leave him to deal with it by himself.”

It wasn’t, however, Cookie’s decision to stand by her husband that caused such a stir throughout much of America. It was something else she said at the time of Johnson’s announcement. Something most people dismissed as either wishful thinking or impossibly naive. “I honestly feel that the Lord is going to heal him and that we are going to live together forever and have more children and be happy,” she said. 

Today, five years later, Cookie believes her faith has been rewarded, and her prediction has come to pass. All of it. For one thing, she says that she and Johnson have never been closer or more in love. For another, they have two beautiful, healthy children. And last, but by no means least, Cookie is certain that God has blessed them with a miracle. 

“The Lord has definitely healed Earvin,” Cookie says in a tone that can’t disguise her unadulterated joy over the results of recent tests in which, she says, doctors could find no signs of the disease in her husband. “He is still taking medication, but there is no virus left in his blood.” 

The doctors’ explanation for the test results is far less spiritual. “They think it’s the medicine,” Cookie acknowledges. But she and Johnson believe otherwise. They believe it is the miracle each of them has been praying for since the day they learned of the diagnosis. “We claim it,” she says quietly, “in the name of Jesus.” 

Though it is sometimes hard for her to believe herself, almost from the day she learned Johnson had been infected with the AIDS virus, Cookie says her life “has only gotten better and better.” In fact, she says, “This really is one of the best times of my life.” There are a lot of reasons for this, Cookie believes, chief among them is the way the diagnosis changed her and Johnson’s outlook on life. Now, they see every day–every moment–as a blessing. They don’t sweat the small stuff and, most important of all, they take nothing–especially each other–for granted.

“The Lord has definitely healed Earvin,” Cookie says in a tone that can’t disguise her unadulterated joy over the results of recent tests in which, she says, doctors could find no signs of the disease in her husband. “He is still taking medication, but there is no virus left in his blood.” 

“Every moment becomes important…,” she has said, explaining how the diagnosis changed her life. “You know how little things used to bother you? Well, now it’s like nothing. Things just roll off our heads, and we just keep going because there’s a bigger issue up there.” Thanks to that shared philosophy, life inside the Johnson family has never been sweeter. “We just have a good time every single day,” Cookie says. “We talk about everything and we have never been closer. Sometimes Earvin will come home and say, `Let’s get out of the house, just me and you,’ and he always makes sure somehow we always have time for each other.”

It was Magic who started the romantic vacation trips that have become a cherished tradition. “Every August we rent a yacht–a huge one, like a 140-footer, and we spend 10 days sailing the Mediterranean,” she says. “We don’t take the kids, and we don’t hotel hop. We just take our time and sail to Monte Carlo, San Tropez, Portofino. Before [Magic’s diagnosis], I would say, `This is too expensive.’ But now I really love it because Earvin doesn’t get mobbed everywhere we go, and we can have the privacy we want.”

It is clear from the way Cookie describes her life as Mrs. Earvin Johnson that, since she married the man she met when they were freshmen together at Michigan State, she has made peace with a lot more than the cost of their summer vacations. At 37, Cookie says she is finally rooted, finally secure in her place in his life. “I’m not always worried about what he’s doing or where he is,” she explains. “I don’t spend any of my time worrying about that kind of stuff anymore. Before, I never knew if it was a secure relationship or not. And now I feel very secure.” As a result, she says, “Our relationship is easier. I’m a lot more relaxed. And a lot more tuned in to me.”

Their relationship is so relaxed, in fact, that both Cookie and Magic forgot their last wedding anniversary. “It wasn’t until eight o’clock at night when a friend called to say `happy anniversary’ that I remembered,” she says. “I said, `Earvin, guess what? Today is our fifth anniversary.’ He said, `Honey, with you, every day is our anniversary. To me, that’s the biggest compliment. I know so many women really get into having flowers and candy and cards. But Earvin gives me a lot of attention all the time, so I’m not starving for it.”

Motherhood, like marriage, has a lot to do with Cookie’s happiness and inner peace. “I love being a mom,” she says, smiling at her 4-year-old son, E.J., and 2-year-old daughter, Elisa, whom Magic and Cookie adopted when she was just three days old. That is not to say that the realities of raising children haven’t turned Cookie’s world upside down. Her pre- and post-motherhood life, Cookie says, is as different as night and day. Gone are the days of lounging around the house and sleeping until noon. Now, her hours are filled with “carpools, homework, soccer games and karate classes.”

Not that Cookie is complaining. Far from it. For Cookie, motherhood is the realization of a dream she has had since she was a child. And, she insists, the reality is better than the fantasy. “Seeing them grow up is so rewarding,” she says, picking up Elisa and smoothing her hair. “Sometimes I’ll listen to the things E.J. and Elisa say and it will hit me–I talk just like that. They got that from me!”

The doctors’ explanation for the test results is far less spiritual. “They think it’s the medicine,” Cookie acknowledges. But she and Johnson believe otherwise. They believe it is the miracle each of them has been praying for since the day they learned of the diagnosis. “We claim it,” she says quietly, “in the name of Jesus.” 

So, does that mean that she and Johnson are planning to adopt more children? Cookie laughs. “I always said that I wanted four children,” she answers, “but every time we get another one, I tell Earvin I’m seriously thinking about cutting the number down.”

Now that Elisa will be starting school, Cookie plans to devote more of her time to educating Black America about AIDS prevention. “My focus is really on educating women and children,” says Cookie, who recently completed a video with several other women, some of them living with AIDS aimed at educating Black women about the disease. She has also started accepting speaking invitations, especially from elementary and high schools, despite her distaste for the spotlight. “I’m still pretty new at it, and when I get up in front of a big crowd, I just go crazy,” she confides. “Once, I got so nervous, I thought I was going to faint. It has just never been me to be out in front of people, but after Earvin made his announcement, so many people told me I could help others, especially our youth, just by talking to them. When I thought about the effect it could have on people, especially our people, I knew I had to force myself to do it.”

Though she still gets nervous before a big event, Cookie says that with every speech she gives, it gets a little easier. What amazes her is the number of people who approach her to tell her how inspired they are by her words. She says she doesn’t prepare anything long and elaborate; she just stands up and speaks from the heart.

“I just give them our experience,” she says. “And I tell them how we cope and how the Lord really has encouraged us and helped us go out and try to encourage other people. We keep a positive mind, and that’s how we live, and we are very happy.”

In addition to her work to promote AIDS awareness, Cookie is also exploring ways she can help to raise money for the Magic Johnson Foundation, which her husband established in 1991 to fund AIDS organizations specializing in education and prevention. She is planning a luncheon and fashion show at the Beverly Hills home she shares with Johnson to get the ball–and the money–rolling.

By Cookie’s own admission, it is the kind of Hollywood affair she would not have been comfortable attending, let alone hosting, when she first moved to L.A. “I was a little intimidated when I first came out,” says Cookie, who worked for several years as a buyer for an Ohio department store before she moved to Los Angeles in 1989 at Johnson’s request. “I stayed in the house a lot. But through my kids’ school and our church, I have been meeting a lot of down-to-earth people, so I am enjoying it a lot more.”

Both Cookie and Magic are active members of the West Angeles Church of God and Christ. While Cookie has always believed in God, since Johnson told her he had been infected with the AIDS virus, she has gotten much deeper into her faith. “I’ve started going to Bible-study classes,” she says. “We study more of the Word and the meaning of it. This [diagnosis] was a true test of faith. We had to stand out on faith on this one. That’s why I needed to seek the Word and understand it and know how to apply it in my everyday life.”

It’s also the reason she and Johnson spent New Year’s Eve in church. “We always bring the new year in that way,” she reveals. “We have had great years together. And when you think about it, what better way to bring in the new year than with the Lord saying, `Thank you.'”

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