Brave, loving, persevering, talented, incomplete
Dedicated, talented, and tough, Mikey was a born hockey player. He began playing at age three, and was joining much older teams by age five. When another team’s player taunted him, he immediately threw down his gloves and earned the mighty mite league’s first ever fighting penalty. His new nickname, “Knuckles,” was stitched into his jackets from then on. Despite his grit, Mikey was kind. “He was the sweetest, most caring kid in the world,” his father, Michael, said. “Always lending a hand, even while facing his own battles.” Off-ice, he was the proud big brother of Ryan, Jarrid, Sydney, and Teighla. He protected them, made them laugh, and yearned to make them proud. He became one of the best hockey players in the state, as well as an accomplished musician/rapper who opened for several well-known acts.
After some trouble in high school, Mikey lost his opportunity to play college hockey. U.S. Army recruiters led him to a new way of making his family proud. He enlisted and was quickly promoted. He spoke many languages fluently, becoming an interrogator during Operation Enduring Freedom. Michael shared: “He was a people-person. His ability to gain people’s trust to share intelligence earned him a bronze medal for capturing many insurgents.”
Mikey’s tours in Afghanistan took both a mental and physical toll. He lost many of his friends during several attacks. During one mission, he tore his rotator cuff after carrying heavy gear throughout the mountains, and was given OxyContin and Percocet to numb the pain. After tearing his second rotator cuff, he was medically discharged. When he sought help at the Veteran Affairs office for his pain and PTSD, they gave him highly addictive narcotics. Without support to re-assimilate to society, drugs were his refuge. After the VA stopped issuing him pills, he turned to street drugs.
Mikey’s substance abuse and PTSD caused his life to implode. He divorced his first wife, the mother of his two cherished daughters, Amaiya, and Aubrielle. For nine years, he did the best he could while living in recovery homes and clinics, helping veterans in similar situations along the way. Many later credited Mikey with saving their lives. He held onto hope for the future, attending classes at a barber college and planning a new career. But, almost inevitably, long periods of recovery were disrupted by events triggering his PTSD. One such event was the premature birth of his son, who passed away seven months later. The devastation pushed Mikey to relapse again.
Mikey never gave up on trying to heal. While taking part in a VA treatment program, Mikey died of a fentanyl overdose. The family is unsure of how he acquired the drugs within the in-patient center, or why he was not screened beforehand.
Michael’s last fond memory of Mikey is attending the New England Patriots’ 2017 playoff game with him and Jarrid. He still wears the sweatshirt he lent to Mikey that day. He misses Mikey’s laugh, his smile, and discussing music and Boston Bruins hockey. “Although he never stopped trying to quit, the military, and the disease robbed us of his love and valuable time together,” Michael said. “I didn’t really understand the disease, thinking he was ‘choosing’ to use the drugs. I was so very wrong. I live with guilt and regret every day. If I knew then what I know now, I would have done more to save him.”
Mikey’s father, Michael Johnson, provided the information for this narrative.
April 15, 1985-April 21, 2017–Age 32
Portrait Artist: Jeremy Hebbel
Narrative Writer: Angela Day
