Dear Friends of Penny’s,

Penny is 79 years old and in dire need of knee replacement surgery.

At 19, young and nimble, she injured herself during Judo practice. Now, six decades later, her knee is finally giving out entirely. The bone-on-bone contact is making walking exhausting and scary, because of the unpredictable shots of pain.

As you may or may not know, she has been a pre-school teacher for several generations of Play Mountain children and she intends to continue reading Frog & Toad to many more. Which is why we need to raise $16,000 to pay for her surgery. The Nanoknee surgery Penny has been advised to get is a non-invasive procedure that will allow her to be back at work within a maximum of two months, but it is not fully covered by insurance.

The amount or $16,000 will cover:

3D model of Penny’s knee: $8,500

Surgery co-pay: $500

Lost income: $7,000

Asking for money is never comfortable, but with your help, Penny will be back on her feet – literally – and hopefully continue to help raise the next generation of Play Mountain kids.

If you’re unable to donate, sharing this page means just as much. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness, generosity, and support during this time.

With gratitude,

Joe, David, Sonja and Ophelia

From Penny:

“Every day I experience recurring, intrusive flashes; in each one, there I am in the middle of one or another of the activities I lost out on when I injured my knee so severely.

Some of the experiences that haunt me:

• waking up after a full night of worry-free, sound sleep

• shopping for groceries (aroma, texture, color)

• dancing with the children! (or even just dancing around my living room!)

Recently, hope is slowly replacing my sadness and frustration. I thank you for any help you can give me in restoring what I lost.”