By Jessica Easthope
6-year-old model Noah Jacob’s smile says it all – it’s been seen by millions, but there’s only one person who Noah wants to smile back.
“Noah is amazing,” said Yami Johnson, Jacob’s mother. “He is just the sweetest little boy, wakes up happy, goes to bed happy, and he is the joy of our family.”
Johnson shares what people don’t see when they look at his ads – his story. It started with a battle.
“It was literally a fight for Noah; that’s what the beginning of my pregnancy was.”
Jacob is the youngest of 4 boys. Johnson got pregnant with him at 44 years old. The call about his diagnosis shook her to her core.
“What’s the percentage of my child having Down syndrome?” “He said, ‘97%.’ When he said 97%, my heart dropped.”
Johnson’s unexpected pregnancy was quickly coming with unrelenting heartache. Her doctors were giving her little hope and even fewer options.
“The baby might be a vegetable, might not walk. They didn’t give me any pamphlets on Down syndrome to educate myself, didn’t give me any organizations that I could reach out to, just said, ‘Here are some clinics where you can terminate.'”
The pressure to abort Jacob became so intense that Johnson was second-guessing what she knew was right.
“I received a phone call, and they were arranging a termination without telling me. Am I doing something terrible by bringing him, you know, to this world this way?”
Johnson found strength in her faith and leaned into what God wanted from her – to bring her baby into the world.
“I’m gonna trust God to get me through this. I said to God, ‘Here’s the deal: if this is what you’re giving, I’m gonna take him anyway he comes, but I need you to give me the strength to get through it. I need you to help me because I can’t do this without you.'”
Jacob’s first year of life saw two open-heart surgeries, kidney and lung disease, blood transfusions, and oxygen 24 hours a day.
“You have to act like everything’s fine, but on the inside, you’re just horrified, wondering what’s going on with your child.”
But all those days in the hospital are what kickstarted Jacob’s modeling career. Johnson didn’t know it at the time, she was filling a void in the market.
“I would take pictures of him in the hospital every day with his little outfits. I thought it was going to be very difficult for him to be a model because you didn’t see children with Down syndrome in ads. You just didn’t see it.”
Today, Jacob has become part of a new wave of inclusivity of disabilities in ads and commercials worldwide. And when he gets on set, he’s in his element.
“It became like a movement because followers from everywhere were sending me pictures next to Noah’s picture. Especially parents of children with special needs. One little boy said he looks like me.”
Johnson says people might see Jacob as a supermodel; she sees him as a role model for compassion, change, and what it means to choose life.
“I didn’t understand my purpose, and then when I became pregnant with Noah, I kind of understood that, and that’s where my faith grew even stronger. If you truly believe in God, you know he doesn’t make mistakes.”
Johnson’s job as Jacob’s mom isn’t easy. Right now, his heart is stable, and he no longer needs oxygen, but he’ll require more heart surgeries in the future.
“It’s worth every tear, worth every sleepless night. It’s priceless.”
Many have been inspired looking at Jacob’s ads. Johnson is inspired every day when she looks into his eyes.
Johnson is looking to help other moms of babies with down syndrome by connecting them with the support groups and resources she didn’t have during her pregnancy. To support her cause you can donate at ChoosingNoah.com.