Help Steph recover from brutal injury due to soccer tackle

Hi, my name is Pip and I am fundraising on behalf of Steph - my teammate from Sydney Uni's WPL football (soccer) team who has suffered a devastating injury in a recent game.

It was a normal Sunday afternoon football game at the aptly named 'Paine Reserve' in Sydney. We were 2-0 up in the second half and Steph was dominating in the midfield. She played a great ball forward when everything changed in an instant. A player flew in from the side with a very late challenge and Steph was on the ground, screaming in agony.

Fast forward a week, Steph is still in hospital awaiting her third of multiple surgeries. She has a Tibial Plateau fracture that looks to the doctors like she has been in a car accident. The tibia is broken in at least 15 places and has been displaced requiring external fixation, her cartilage has been destroyed and some bone fragments are too small to save. She will need several steel plates in her knee and Doctors are unsure of the mobility she can expect in the future or if she’ll ever play again. And we haven't even got to the ligament damage yet. Doctor's say that they're just glad she's still got her leg, as a severe case of compartment syndrome threatened to take her limb. All of this from a reckless tackle at a Sunday game of football.

Maybe you know Steph personally and are devastated for her, maybe you play football and are just thankful that it's not you in that hospital bed, whatever it is, if you are able to forego a few coffees or a night out to help Steph on her very long road to recovery, she and her family would be truly grateful. We don't yet know what the full cost of recovery will be, but the money you donate will help fund the major surgery, which will cost over $7k and take more than 4 hours. Total bills will be well in excess of $9k with multiple surgeries from specialists and extensive rehab.

I only met Steph this year playing football, but in that short time I've discovered that she's a bloody legend and a fighter, she's somehow kept a smile on her face in hospital despite being in incredible pain. It felt like the least I could do was try to help ease the financial burden of this horrific injury. Not everyone is in a position to donate and if you are unable, we'd be grateful if you could share this within your network to help get Steph one step closer to walking again!

Thank you all in advance on behalf of Steph and her family for your support, love and generosity. We will keep you posted on her progress.