Kerron Johnson No Longer Stranded in Romania
It appears Kerron Johnson, brother of Lions running back Kerryon Johnson, has found a return flight home.
“My brother is coming today. Thank you everyone who helped us raise awareness,” tweeted Nyla Cosby.
One can only imagine there was a very deep sigh of relief and a perhaps a prolonged release of ecstasy when Kerron Johnson’s family found out the news that he would finally be returning home.
After months of anxiously waiting and wondering, Kerron reportedly boarded a flight on June 6 from Romania, where he had been stranded due to the COVID-19 pandemic, back to the United States where he can now reunite with his wife Gina.
Gina is a little over a month away from her scheduled due date for the couple’s first child.
A former standout at Belmont University on the basketball court, Kerron was playing in Romania’s Liga Nationala prior to the season getting cut short after about 75 percent completion.
His subsequent plans after the cancellation were to board a flight alongside his Australian Sheppard, Kota.
A flight that was originally scheduled by Gina, who is a flight attendant, ultimately didn’t pan out due to the airline not allowing Kota to fly at the time.
“Just couldn’t leave him behind,” Kerron told Michael Rothstein of ESPN. “A lot of people told me to, but he’s part of our family.”
An arduous and eventful journey commenced over what must have felt like more than a couple of months.
Numerous cancellations, a lack of direct travel and a state of emergency in Romania -- a few of the reasons that made it so difficult for Kerron to find a way home.
Rothstein spoke with Kerron prior to his flight home.
“At least five or six times, I thought I was going to be able to get on a flight or book a flight, and it’s just not been there anymore,” Kerron said. “Maybe even more than that, but five or six times where I thought, ‘I’m really getting out this time.’”
Kerron and Gina reportedly hadn’t seen each other since Valentine’s Day. The two stayed in constant contact via FaceTime throughout Gina’s pregnancy, though.
“My worst fear is to not be there for his first breath,” Kerron told Yahoo Sports’ Pete Thamel.
There are little over 5,500 miles that separate their home state of Alabama from Romania.
Gina and Kerron are expecting a wonderful new addition to their lives the week of July 21, and it feels as though the oft-said phrase of “there’s no place like home” has never been more applicable.
