Testimonial

For years, pain was his constant companion. Since 2015, it gripped him relentlessly, making every step a battle, every movement a reminder of his suffering. He relied on pain medicine to dull the agony, but some days, even the strongest painkillers couldn’t help. He learned to ration them—enduring unbearable pain for days just so that, when he finally took them, he might feel a sliver of relief. But even that sliver became more fleeting as time went on.

While others moved forward—pursuing careers, raising families, embracing life—he remained trapped. His condition worsened with each passing year, despite visiting hospital after hospital, searching for hope where there was none. The greatest heartbreak, though, was his children. Since they were born, he had longed to pick them up, to lift them high in the air and hear their laughter echo around him. But the pain stole that dream from him. Instead, they learned to tiptoe around his suffering, growing up knowing a father who winced at every movement, not one who could run and play alongside them.

Then, in 2023, he came to The Luke Commission.

At first, he couldn’t believe it. A surgery that had always been beyond his reach—far too expensive, far too impossible—was suddenly within grasp. A total hip replacement, at no cost. The reality of it overwhelmed him. As he sat with the doctors, hearing that the moment he had prayed for had finally arrived, he broke down in tears. Years of hopelessness, of silent suffering, of watching his children from the sidelines, all came rushing to the surface. He sobbed, unable to contain the emotions he had buried for so long.

The day of the surgery, he was still crying. Not from fear, but from disbelief. This was the moment he never thought would come.

And now? Now, he is a different man. He can work again, providing for his family like he always dreamed. He can walk without pain. He can run—something he hadn’t done in years. Every time he visits The Luke Commission, he sprints in, eager to show the very people who saved him what he can now do. The man who once hobbled through life, leaning on medication that barely dulled the suffering, is now a man who moves freely, who embraces life with joy.

And all of this was possible because of the kindness of donors. Because someone cared enough to give. There are still so many others like him—fathers, mothers, children—who live with pain every single day, waiting for a miracle. Waiting for a chance to truly live again.