Kleinfelder a picture of perseverance

It was just after 11 p.m. July 12 last year, and Morgan Kleinfelder's swollen left leg hadn't gotten any better.

The day before, Kleinfelder, a St. John the Baptist softball player, had been injured while playing with her travel team. The initial diagnosis was some swelling and bruising. After a sleepless and painful night, however, Kleinfelder's parents took her back to the hospital, where the conversation turned serious.

"The doctor started talking pretty intense in front of my daughter, and I asked if we could go outside for a minute," said Morgan's dad, Jerry. "He said, 'Listen I have to prepare you and your wife. I'm not sure if we can save the leg.' At that point, your world has just changed."

Not a routine trip to ER

July 11 began routinely for Kleinfelder, who was playing first base for the Long Island Hurricanes at a tournament in Connecticut. She recalled playing the field in the middle innings when the batter sent a pop fly toward foul ground on the first base side.

"I was jogging to my left, and the catcher was running in, too," Kleinfelder said. "We didn't call. We didn't even know we were both going for it."

When the ball came down, they collided, the catcher's shin gear ripping into Kleinfelder's left leg.

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"I just dropped," she said. "There was a doctor there who told me not to get up. I was in so much pain. They supported the knee and tried to straighten it, and I couldn't straighten it. The ambulance came on the field, picked me up and took me straight to the hospital."

In the emergency room, she was told a clear diagnosis could not be made because the swelling was too severe. The leg was put into a soft cast and she was sent home and told to see an orthopedic doctor when the swelling decreased. The pain persisted, though, and Jerry figured something was wrong.

"We have three children that all played sports, and Morgan and my son are no strangers to going to the emergency room," Jerry said. "This was different."

The worried parents took Morgan back to the hospital. They learned that had they come two hours later, her leg would have had to be amputated.

She had a fractured tibia and torn PCL and was rushed in for a six-hour emergency surgery at 11:30 p.m. at Schneider Children's Hospital (now Cohen Children's Medical Center). Dr. Mihai Rosca performed the procedure.

"The first surgery, they opened up my leg to release the swelling," Kleinfelder said. "I had compartment syndrome. They had to repair an artery that was severed. They kept the leg open and put a vacuum into both sides of my leg."

Two more surgeries followed. And that was just the first 12 days.

Wheelchair to the field

To start her junior year at SJB, Kleinfelder was wheelchair-bound.

"One of the first things she said to me was, 'Don't worry. I'll be out of this chair,' " said Brianne Herr, the school's softball coach who also taught Kleinfelder social studies. "I never thought she would be playing for me at the beginning of the season, never mind the end of the season."

A fourth surgery in late August allowed Kleinfelder to switch to crutches. She began the laborious task of physical therapy, then started practicing with her club team in December. By the time SJB started the 2011 season, she was ready.

"I was very proud of her," Herr said. "Every day she said, 'I'm going to be back, I'm going to be playing.' That was her mantra from day one."

In her first game, Kleinfelder pitched five innings, allowing three hits and striking out three. Proving the knee just fine, she also doubled. Overall, she's batting .467 with four runs scored and two RBIs. She's 1-1 in the circle with a 1.34 ERA and nine strikeouts in 15 innings.

She walks with a slight limp now and has to wear a knee brace, something she said may stick with her for years. She has a scar from the top of her thigh to her ankle and another from her kneecap to her ankle. The physical therapy hasn't ended, either.

But the overall epilogue is a happy one. Kleinfelder is back to pitching, hitting, running and generally just being a high school girl. The family's boat bears the name of Dr. Rosca, in thanks for the "miracle" he performed.

"I don't think many girls in that condition, being told 'you may lose this leg' could overcome something like that," Herr said. "I've never seen someone have an injury like that and say, 'not only am I going to be walking, but I'll be back pitching and playing softball.' "