Ellen

I needed a meniscus transplant because of years of overuse and deterioration from my soccer playing days. This was my eighth knee surgery and really my last ditch effort to get some sort of pain relief.

This surgery meant a whole lot more to me than any before because this time, I’m a mom. I have a son that turned 2 on my surgery day and an 8 month old daughter. Since having my daughter on St. Patrick’s Day, I have not been able to be as active with the kids as I would like. Simply putting the kids in a stroller and walking around the block was too hard on my knee. I couldn’t sit on the floor and play cars or dinosaurs with my son. I hit my breaking point when my daughter was just a month old. I was walking down the stairs and my knee gave out. Time seemed to stand still as I grasped for anything that could catch me and protect my daughter. I tore even more tendons that day but kept my daughter safe, thankfully. That was a wake up call that I had to do something about my knee now before it was too late.

This surgery meant more to me than any others and while I’m still recovering and have a long road ahead of me, it’s the first time I have hope. I can’t wait until I can run around with the kids at the park, crawl around the house like a dinosaur, and do all the other silly things I would have missed out on.

My family and I will always remember this act of kindness and generosity.