Nease High junior Izzy Knight can lift some heavy weights and in February she competed at the FHSAA girls weightlifting state competition and finished sixth overall in the Olympic format and seventh in traditional, both in the 101-pound weight class.
However, she and her family are now the ones that are receiving a major lift from the local community, after Knight needed surgery to repair a broken L1 vertebra after an accident during a workout on March 30.
The surgery, which lasted more than four hours, was successful but now Knight and her family begin the long road to recovery.
In an attempt to help on this path, a group called “Izzy’s Friends” out of Nocatee started a gofundme page titled “Lift Up Izzy Knight” where anyone in the community can donate money to help ease the financial stress during the stressful and emotional time for all involved.
The group asks for any donation, and even if a person cannot help financially, they can still play their part by sharing the page with others and by offering prayers of strength and comfort for Izzy and her family.
So far, the community has come together in a big way and has done its part to answer the call, as more than $12,000 has been raised by 246 people in just three days since the post was originally created.
Knight has made the state meet in each of her three years on the Panthers’ girls weightlifting squad.
Anyone who wishes to help the cause and donate money to the Knight family can click on the link at Fundraiser by Izzy’s Friends : Lift Up Izzy Knight (gofundme.com).
