BU student to ride on Donate Life Float in the Rose Parade

BloomU Today | Anne Burns for MTF

Take the power of social media and combine it with the miracle of tissue donation and you have a storybook ending for Joey Ianiero of Bloomsburg, PA and Brandon Witt of Dallas, TX. Ianiero and Witt have been chosen by MTF, the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation and the American Association of Tissue Banks to ride on this year's Donate Life Float in the Rose Parade. Here's the story.

It was always a personal goal of Joey Ianiero of Bloomsburg to play college baseball with the hopes of making it to the Major Leagues. In the summer of 2008, as a member of the Rutgers University baseball team, Joey decided the best way to continue to improve his playing skills was to join a league in North Carolina. After a few weeks of playing down south, something happened that changed his life. As the team's second baseman, Joey was turning a double play when the runner slid late and crashed into his left knee. Joey instantly knew he was injured, but not sure how badly. Joey had torn his ACL, MCL and Meniscus.

After returning home to Pennsylvania, Joey went to see a doctor about his injuries. The doctor offered several options for how to repair Joey's ruptured ACL, including receiving a donor tendon. The doctor assured him the donor tendon was the most efficient way to repair the ligament. Joey underwent surgery and afterward a nurse handed his mom an envelope and said, "Your son was the recipient of a gift today."

Read full article: http://bloomutoday.com/bu-student-to-ride-on-donate-life-float-in-the-rose-parade-p1731-1.htm