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Top Cop Johnson Getting Kidney Transplant In 'Next Couple Of Weeks'

By Kelly Bauer | August 23, 2017 12:05pm
 Supt. Eddie Johnson will receive a kidney transplant in the near future, he said at a Wednesday news conference.
Supt. Eddie Johnson will receive a kidney transplant in the near future, he said at a Wednesday news conference.
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DNAinfo/Ted Cox

CHICAGO — Supt. Eddie Johnson said he'll receive a kidney transplant from his son in "the next couple of weeks."

Johnson has battled kidney disease for more than 30 years and needs a transplant, he announced in January. Doctors were considering a number of donors and eventually settled on Johnson's 25-year-old son, Daniel.

That surgery should occur in the next couple of weeks, Johnson said during a Wednesday news conference. He and his son are not concerned about the surgery and have faith in God and the surgeons who will perform the operation, he said.

Johnson said he's "just ready to get it done" and it's been "wonderful" to see his son grow into a man he's proud of.

"I really don't have the words to express that. I'm proud of him," Johnson said. "It wasn't something that I asked him to do. He chose to do this for me.

"We've always had a good bond. And, quite naturally, it's really ... really gotten deeper. But he's a lot like me," Johnson said, laughing. "He just kind of looks at it like, 'I'm getting a tune-up. Let's get this done and move on.'"

Johnson lost more than 40 pounds in preparation for the surgery, he told CBS2.