Johnson hailed a lifesaver

Kiwis league star Shaun Johnson has been credited by the parents of a young cancer patient for playing a massive role in helping save their son’s life.

In March, 12-year-old Jason Braniff was diagnosed with leukaemia. Jason’s mother Sharon and father Greg told Fox Sports

that their son began to lose hope after rounds of chemotherapy in Sydney.

At one point, Jason whispered to his mother: ‘‘Just let me die, I don’t want to do this anymore.’’

But a hospital visit by members of the Cronulla Sharks NRL side – including Johnson – proved a massive lift for Jason. ‘‘He was in a really bad place. ‘‘We’d never seen it before, we were just at a loss,’’ Greg told the station. ‘‘I can still visualise it in

Shaun Johnson made a big impact on 12-year-old cancer patient Jason Braniff.

my head like it was yesterday.

‘‘He had his arms on the table with his head down and it just wasn’t him.’’ Johnson entertained the youngster by ‘‘running around like an idiot’’ with a sombrero during the visit and then Sharon told the former New Zealand Warrior how Jason was giving up his fight. ‘‘He took his jumper off and signed it and gave it to Jason and said ‘keep the fight going mate, you’ve got this, I’m 100 per cent behind you’.

‘‘It made me cry how he was so there with him. From then on Jason was like ‘I’ve got this, I’m going to beat this’,’’ Sharon said.

Added Jason: ‘‘That meant a lot because no-one has done that for me before.

‘‘He helped me put a smile on my face . . . it gives me a lot of strength knowing Shaun will be there with me.’’

This week, Johnson posted on his Instagram page that Jason was able to ring the bell at the hospital to signal the cancer was in remission.