Family and Friends,

Thank you for taking the time to read my story. My name is Matheus Mera Pimentel de Oliveira. Most of you know I've spent my life learning, training and pursuing the dream of becoming a professional soccer player and being able to provide for my family. Since last year, I've been fighting against a potentially career-ending injury that has changed my life.

Below is a glimpse of my struggle, in hopes you can join and help me overcome this obstacle in returning to the soccer field.

Born and raised by my single solid mother in the small city of Santos, Brazil, I have always encountered my obstacles with the best attitude. I still dream of playing professionally. Soccer is my scapegoat. As a kid, I remember going to sleep wearing soccer cleats and placing the soccer ball next to my pillow some nights. It's always been my first language, my true love.

On January 10th, 2021, my life changed dramatically when a terrible injury came to my reality. I was playing a league match for Miami Soccer Academy (NSL); as I was pressuring my opponent, my cleats got stuck on the artificial grass then I felt my left knee pop. At the time, our strengthening coach, Jay Wooden, performed a quick physical test to see if there was any potential tear. Tests were negative; ice was immediately wrapped and applied to the area.

A few days later, I was still worried about the injury, and the team I was part of didn't have health insurance coverage for the players. I visited a medical clinic (orthoNOW) in North Miami Beach, FL, to receive a better assessment. The only potential staff on duty was physician Milton Menco, PA-C.

He proceeded with the Lachman test, the same one performed by the strengthening coach on the night of the injury. He claimed that everything seemed to be okay.

I explained my financial instability to him and asked if an MRI was needed. He made me feel okay based on the Lachman test and disregarded the MRI as long as I saw improvements in the next couple of days and weeks.

After a few weeks of icing, compression and elevation, I started my rehabilitation with Roger Caibe, a prestige professional strengthening coach in Miami, FL, 4-5x a week for eight months. I felt the best shape of my life running, jumping, absorbing impact, human contact and side-to-side movements, leading to various physical tests being performed successfully in those eight months. I'm 6'6" tall, and my muscles have always been strong. By this time, I didn't realize that a severe possible tear in my knee was present because I was relying on the physical tests performed and not that my muscles were holding the damaged knee ligaments together.

On October 21st, 2021, we decided to give it a go in training back with the team…I was feeling confident, strong and comfortable with my painless recovery. However, 40 minutes into the match training, the second pop happened after a landing; right there and then, I knew something was wrong. I took no chances this time and went ahead to get the MRI.

Results returned positive for a complete ACL tear and partial tear on the MCL (medial collateral ligament) and meniscus.

Since then, it’s been an emotional rollercoaster. Not to forget, everything happened during the COVID-19 crisis. From living by myself and being unable to work for a couple of months to finding a well-paying job and accepting the fact, I would need to be patient to come up with the funds to pay regular bills and the surgery. I remained focused on doing what I could to strengthen the muscles around the knee and other muscle groups to keep my knee stable and able to work. I've been working now for several months and saving as much as possible, but there's a long way to go. My mom has been supportive my whole life, even during these challenging times, but I understand she has her journey and responsibilities and is still taking care of my little sister's needs in college. Considering I'm already 26 and willing to play as soon as possible, my timeframe to return to the field, the surgery and the post-surgery scenario is a lot for us.

Soccer taught me resilience and discipline towards any challenge, which helped me overcome several personal adversities. I would've never imagined going through a situation like this one before. Never in my life would I have thought of creating a gofund-me account, but I humbly need your help.

After consulting several orthopedic surgeons here in the U.S. and Brazil, we decided that the surgery would take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil, by Dr. Marcelo Filardi, a well-known, respected sports orthopedic specialist. We spoke about the surgical process, and he left us comfortable with his approach, as he has successfully done many soccer players in his career. The post-surgery continuation and rehabilitation process will be held with Dr. Filardi's physical therapist Ricardo Tubino who works side-by-side with patients that underwent surgery in Brazil and live in the United States at Touch of Health Physical Therapy, 17070 Collins Ave. Suite 254, Sunny Isles Beach, FL. Also, in Brazil, I have the support of my family, that will be helping me with transportation, a place to stay, food and any other things concerning the surgery plan and my well-being. The funds will pay for his medical team, hospital bill (Santa Catarina) and post-surgery rehabilitation. I expect to return to work as soon as I can after surgery, but we're not sure how long it will take.

A written copy of the MRI results, the estimated pricing for Dr. Marcelo Filardi's surgical team, and the Santa Catarina Hospital bill are available. I will be updating all the receipts and the recovery process here.

Please email me with any questions you may have. I will get back to you immediately!

Thank you so much for your attention and any participation. I am counting on you and anyone you can bring in for me. God bless you all!