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When Johnnie L. was in the hospital recovering from brain surgery, his wife Lorac’s co-worker stumbled across an article in the Washington Post. It was about a man with glioblastoma preparing to run in the upcoming Race for Hope DC. Inspired by the story and determined to show her support, Lorac’s friend formed the “Lawton’s Loving Lineup” team in Johnnie’s honor.
That spring, Johnnie and Lorac attended Race for Hope DC for the first time.
A Community That Keeps Them Coming Back
In May 2025, Johnnie and Lorac completed their 10th Race for Hope DC. What began as a show of support during a frightening time in their lives has grown into a meaningful annual tradition.
“There’s nothing worse than feeling like you’re the only one out there,” Johnnie said. “If you get together with other people, you find out there are a lot of people going through the same thing, and who can help you along the way. I wish everybody could know that they’re not alone because it makes a big difference.”
Since their first walk, the team has collectively raised more than $49,000 to support brain tumor research. Along the way, they’ve learned what works and are eager to share their tips for a successful Race for Hope DC:
Meet early and choose a meeting spot for your group a couple of blocks away from the starting line.
Use the designated survivor parking pass.
Share your fundraising page on social media and send it to your email list (e.g., holiday card list, book club friends, family members, etc.).
Promote your fundraising page around a milestone, such as a person’s birthday, diagnosis anniversary, or other significant event.
Once you’ve created your team, focus on getting people to join in the first month, then start asking for donations.
Host a small local fundraiser, like a restaurant night, to boost your team’s donation total.
“Research dollars are really hard to come by, so it’s even more important that we support the research so that new treatments can be devised,” Lorac said.
The Diagnosis: When the Right Eye Went Dark
Johnnie and Lorac celebrated New Year’s Eve in the hospital
In December 2015, Johnnie went to the emergency room for an apparent stroke. The MRI taken that day only showed blood, but no tumor. It wasn’t until February, after Johnnie suffered a grand mal seizure, that doctors identified a mass in his left occipital lobe — suspected glioblastoma (GBM).
During his hospital stay, Johnnie began seeing things that were not there.
“I didn’t mention it at first because I didn’t want people to think I was crazy, but after a while, you realize you need help figuring out what’s going on,” Johnnie said.
He kept seeing Rocky and Natasha from the Rocky and Bullwinkle show in his hospital room, off to the right side of his vision, along with the occasional orange Volkswagen and other familiar objects. The neurosurgeon explained that the tumor, located in his brain’s vision center, was “tickling” old visual memories.
Doctors warned Johnnie that his right eye would “go dark” after brain surgery. And it did.
“Today, I don’t have vision in my right eye,” Johnnie said. “When I have my hand covering my left eye, I have vision in my right eye all of a sudden. Your brain is an amazing thing, and it will try to compensate for anything.”
Johnnie worked with an occupational vision therapist after surgery to adapt, learning to enter a room and scan the entire room so he has an idea of where things are.
“They told me from the very beginning that I would not be able to drive,” Johnnie said. “I have to be careful about what’s on my right side as I walk through a crowd so I don’t run into people or things.”
A professional chef for more than 30 years, Johnnie found the loss of taste — a common side effect — particularly difficult.
“For a long time, I couldn’t taste anything,” Johnnie said. “It took weeks for it to slowly come back, which was important because that’s what I do for a living.”
After completing standard of care, Johnnie started using Optune, a wearable device that delivers Tumor Treating Fields to disrupt cancer cell division, and he has since worn it for more than nine years. But navigating insurance hasn’t been easy.
“While Medicare covered the device, they would deny it, Johnnie would appeal it, and then they would agree,” Lorac shared. “Novocure [Optune’s manufacturer] would help us appeal it every month and took it up a couple of levels when finally an adjudicator wrote a letter to say it should be paid monthly.”
Finding Peace in the Process
Last year, the radiation oncologist reduced Johnnie’s MRI frequency from every three months to every four — a milestone that sparked anxiety rather than relief.
“That made us really super nervous,” Lorac said. “Scanxiety is real. We do the scan a week before we go to the doctor. That week is always a very painful week when you’ve done the scan and you don’t know what the results are.”
Throughout the past decade, Johnnie has maintained a remarkably calm demeanor — something Lorac both admires and jokes about.
“That’s one of our mantras: We’re just working the plan,” Lorac said. “We’re just doing what they say. I’ve told people before that the most wonderful thing and most frustrating thing about being married to Johnnie is that nothing rises to the level of an emergency.”
Even so, living with long-term survivorship brings its own mental and emotional challenges, especially survivor’s guilt.
“It’s good that you’re a beacon of hope for folks, but you do get a little bit of that survivor’s guilt because for so many people, the normal GBM journey is not like Johnnie’s at all,” Lorac shared.
Join NBTS at Race for Hope DC
Events like NBTS’s Race for Hope DC raise critical funds to accelerate brain tumor research, provide patient navigation and support, and champion patient-first policies and federal research funding.
Join Johnnie, Lorac, and thousands of others on May 3, 2026, for a morning of celebration, remembrance, and hope. Your community is here. Let’s discover a cure, together.
