My name is Antonia, the Head Coach of Lakeland High School Girls Basketball program. I am seeking your support in helping one of our student athlete as she's in need of ACL surgery. Unfortunately she suffered a season ending injury in January and is without insurance to help cover the cost of her surgery.

To help lower the financial stress on the family I asked their permission to see if we can seek support from near and far as this kid is more than deserving of a chance to live out her dreams injury and stress free.

Hear her story below:

Hi, my name is Odia Linton, and I’m a rising senior at Lakeland Senior High School. I’m involved in girls' basketball (post player.), track and field (thrower), JROTC, Spanish Club, National Honor Society, and more — all while keeping a 4.2 GPA. I’ve always believed in working hard, dreaming big, and making my parents proud.

But on January 14th, during a basketball game, my life changed in an instant. Just five minutes into the game, I tore my ACL, a ligament in my left knee. I’ll never forget the pain, not just physically, but emotionally. Since then, I’ve been unable to play, train, or walk normally, and I have been carrying the weight of an injury I can’t afford to fix.

At the time, my mom was unemployed, and I’m still uninsured. The cost of surgery is $11,000, and for the past four months, we’ve been doing everything we can; asking family, praying, hoping. But it hasn’t been enough.

Every day I come home from school and see the stress in my mom’s eyes. I hear her cry quietly when she thinks I’m not listening. I see her working so hard to stay strong, to carry everything on her own in a country that still feels new to her. And it breaks me, because I know she’d give anything to take this pain away, but she can’t.

I’m her oldest child, and I just want to take some of the weight off her shoulders. I want to walk again without fear. I want to play again. I want to finish high school the way I started it…strong, hopeful, and proud.

We are asking for $6,000 to help cover a fraction of the surgery cost. Even the smallest donation would mean so much. If you can’t give, please just share this with someone who might be able to help.

Thank you for reading my story. And thank you for helping me get one step closer to healing.