My name is Tricia Erezo. I am a junior at Silver Creek High School in San Jose and take pride in being a scholar athlete with a 4.0 GPA. During my sophomore year basketball season, I injured my right knee driving to the basket. I was done for the season and went to the doctors to request an MRI, but they said to rest and that there was nothing to worry about.

And that's what I did. I trained and worked out the following summer, making me feel confident coming into my junior year volleyball season. Just before preseason ended, I re-injured my same knee, landing wrong after hitting. This injury being worse this time, I went to the doctors again, and they still didn't want to give me an MRI saying that it would heal on its own. As I rehabbed again on my own and continued to play volleyball after 2 months of recovery, I still did not know what was going on with my knee and basketball season was fast approaching.

During season or any physical activity, I noticed I couldn't make defensive moves or play to the best of my ability without my knee giving out or locking/buckling randomly to the point where I was used to it happening and continued to play. After season, on the advice of my coach, we went to go see Dr. Arthur Ting, well-known orthopedic surgeon, for an examination. He knew something was definitely torn and recommended for an MRI to be done just to confirm his diagnosis. The following day, I got the MRI and it was confirmed. I had a ruptured ACL and complex tearing in my meniscus in the right knee. He recommended surgery as soon as possible.

 I am being raised by my three older sisters  after losing my father to cancer in 2012 and our family just does not have the funds or the means necessary for a costly surgery. The surgery is going to cost $12,000 and Medi-Cal is not willing to help pay for it. I've lost faith in the Medi-Cal system and so therefore I am seeking your help with any amount of donations so that I can get the surgery as soon as possible and be able to continue on being a scholar athlete in high school and in college. 

Thank you in advance for your generosity and your prayers.