Pupils Mourn Dedicated Teacher, 23

Twenty-three-year-old Amiee Johnson was so dedicated to her fifth-grade students at Serrania Avenue Elementary School that she delayed a crucial surgery to be with them on back-to-school night last month.

Wednesday evening, her students mourned her death and the end to a promising career for one of their Woodland Hills school’s brightest talents.

“She was young and nice,” said Sam Fathi, 11, after a memorial service at Forest Lawn Memorial-Park, Hollywood Hills. “I really loved her.”

More than 150 mourners--including teachers, principals and childhood friends--gathered in the cemetery’s Church of the Hills to recall Johnson’s thirst for life, her love of learning and her unyielding self-confidence.

“You brought such excitement, enthusiasm, wonderment and a whole array of experiences that I could never have imagined,” said Reisa Aran, who supervised Johnson when she was a teaching assistant at Burton Elementary School in Panorama City.

Johnson suffered from lupoid autoimmune liver disease, in which the liver attacks itself, causing cirrhosis and weakening other organs such as the gallbladder.

She was diagnosed at age 5, and the disease brought havoc to her life. Steroid pills meant to suppress the malady left her tired and nauseated. But despite the limitations and pain, Johnson’s disease failed to weaken her spirit.

As an anthropology major at UCLA, she still found time to volunteer at Haddon Elementary School in Pacoima. As a novice teacher at Serrania, she threw herself into the job--giving up her lunch hours to help students with their schoolwork.

Two days before back-to-school night last month, Johnson passed out at a Westwood restaurant. She was rushed to UCLA Medical Center, where she spent one night but refused--over the objections of her parents and doctors--to stay longer. She signed a waiver relieving the hospital of responsibility and returned to school the second day--Oct. 7--her birthday.

She taught part of the day and attended a surprise party given by her students at recess. She returned that evening to greet parents for back-to-school night. Other teachers noticed she was in pain.

“I saw her holding her stomach,” recalled Vicki Hodge, a fifth-grade instructor. “I said, ‘Are you OK? Have you seen a doctor?’ ”

“She said, ‘Vicki, I have back-to-school night and about five other things to do. How would I find the time to go to the doctor?’ ”

After being persuaded to have a checkup the next day, Johnson was rushed to surgery at Huntington Memorial Hospital in Pasadena. Gangrene had invaded her gallbladder. For a time she seemed to be recovering but then passed out in the hospital. On Oct. 15, surgeons operated again and found a gallstone in a bile duct. Her already weakened liver began to shut down, and doctors stepped up blood transfusions. Soon after, Johnson was transferred back to UCLA Medical Center to be evaluated for a liver transplant. As physicians reviewed her case, her condition worsened.

Then came the news: A liver had arrived. Euphoric, Johnson told her mother to call Serrania: “Tell them I’m getting my liver, and I’m going to be back.”

But Johnson died on the operating table before surgeons could begin their work. Doctors said a blood clot may have lodged in her lung. Her mother, who isn’t sure whether skipping back-to-school night would have saved her daughter, said: “I think she was just tired of all that pain. I think she just wanted to go home.”