Tanja Michel

Common ski accident

In 2004, Tanja hit the slopes with friends and came home with a damaged cruciate ligament. A common enough injury, even for someone like Tanja who played handball at a high level and was super fit.

Her knee seemed to recover well enough, no doubt helped by her great physical condition and positive mindset. Her life juggling a family of six and playing an active role in her community continued.

Except for playing handball.

Her knee injury got in the way.

No big deal

Giving up handball didn’t feel like a big deal at the time.

“There comes a time when you’re getting a bit older and family life demands a lot. And then there’s a moment where you decide to really invest and keep playing, or transition into becoming a coach. This decision had been on my mind and the injury made the decision for me.”

Tanja accepted the change without missing a beat.

Life continued for 12 years. Tanja’s family thrived and grew from two children to four.

Vacuuming a tricky spot

Then one day while vacuuming, Tanja hurt her knee again. Although she didn’t know it at the time, her life was about to change in a big way. Forever.

Yes, her life-changing journey began with vacuuming.

In true Tanja style, she was volunteering and giving her all. She went to clean a tricky spot between two benches and felt a twinge in her knee.

She knew it wasn’t good. The pain was deep.

She got it checked and the doctor told her it was just a sprain. So, she put an ice pack on it and got on with life.

Her busy household continued to rumble on.

And so did her knee.

Until one morning, she tried to get up and couldn’t.

The hospital told Tanja that she had osteoarthritis, which had developed from her earlier ski injury. She was told that the two bones in her knee had connected, which meant it was no longer able to move.

Tanja was told she would have to get a knee replacement. This wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but it also didn’t feel like the end of the world.

A new knee

Tanja got strength from the Oscar Wilde quote, “everything will be alright in the end and if it’s not alright, it’s not the end.” 

She lived by this quote. Because what happened next wasn’t alright.

Tanja got her knee replacement and as she recovered, she noticed a small wound on the surface of her skin.

She was told time would heal her wound.

But it didn’t.

Family and life demands remained high. As her husband was away for work a lot, her son Max stepped in and helped with the younger siblings.

By this time, Tanja was in a wheelchair.

Tanja’s closest friends and family were right there to support her. In big and small ways. When she was in hospital for months at a time, a friend would bring her young daughter in to share precious time with Tanja.

Lying in bed not able to do all the things she always did, knowing her daughter needed her, took a lot of strength to endure.

Strength that she had to call on again and again.

Over 100 surgeries

Tanja and her family then went through another 108 surgeries, including another knee replacement.

It was a tough time for everyone.

The knee replacements weren’t working.

On the eve of her third attempted knee replacement, Tanja’s doctors said they would give it one more shot to replace her knee. They also raised that it was time to start thinking about the possibility of losing her leg altogether.