Emma and Daniel Johnston

2015 proved challenging for the Johnston kids. Emma, a distance-running high school sophomore was in full college recruiting while she raced with her spring track team and played midfielder on her town's high school travel soccer team. Until she tore her ACL. This was June. This would mean she would have surgery in July and miss virtually her entire junior year cross country, indoor and outdoor track seasons. We were devastated.

At the same time, her brother Daniel, an active 5th grade lacrosse and soccer player, began complaining of ankle pain. We assumed it was just a sprain. We were wrong. Daniel's MRI showed that one of his ankle joints was nearly completely fused. This would mean that he, too, would have surgery. We were heartbroken.

But how fortunate we were that HSS is just miles from our home. And how fortunate we were to find Drs. Marx and Blanco, who were experts in their respective fields of ACL reconstruction and Pediatric congenital orthopedics. But more than that, each showed a level of interest and concern with how our kids were coping with their impending surgeries, which were just a few weeks apart. Each surgeon took an interest in what our kids wanted to return to, and were encouraging, supportive and positive, while also being realistic. We are so thankful for Dr. Marx's quick return of emails with whatever questions I had, and his sense of humor in answering our daughter's questions about why she wouldn't bleed to death during the surgery. We are so thankful for Dr. Blanco's ability to make our son laugh, and for his visit with us in the recovery room where I witnessed the most amazing expression of caring that I had never seen before from any health care provider.

Now, nearly 9 months later, both Emma and Daniel have returned to the sports they love. Thank you, HSS, for getting them back in the game.