Tommy John Surgery is where the Ulnar Collateral Nerve in the elbow goes under reconstruction and realignment in order to re-improve the functionality of the elbow. Tommy John is the most common injury involved with baseball and more than 530 pitchers in the major and minor league have had the surgery performed. I used to believe in arm care but never put forth the effort until I had to have Tommy John Surgery, now I take care of my arm after games and practice so I can prevent another surgery. 60 percent of Tommy John Surgeries come between the age range of 15-19. I was 15 years old, the first time I consistently started having elbow pain. I realized I was being overused, pitching too much and not getting as much of a break in between games pitched as required. I didn’t think too much of it; I thought the surgery would never happen to me. As the games rolled by I continued to put stress on it by throwing more and resting less. As my body was physically developing, my elbow wasn’t. 83 percent of surgery go’ers turn out to be successful if not more successful than what they already were prior to surgery. June 4th, 2014, two years after the initial pain in my arm began was the day I went under the knife. The surgery only allowed for me to play eight games during my junior year of high school. From here on out I had to work so hard to get back to normal, and than more so I could be better than I was. Rehab was twice a week for 2 hours every day; the exercises were repetitive and boring, but were needed in order to make a full recovery, so I persevered. Wanting to be better than most who returned from surgery, I put in the extra rehab and work needed to over achieve my goals. I finally realized what I wanted in life, which is to be a professional baseball player. This made me understand that it is a blessing to play this sport and not everyone gets the chance to come out everyday and work with a bunch of guys who all have the same goal. Currently I dedicate most of my spare time after practice and games to ice and stem for my elbow to remain 100 percent all the time. Continuing to do these exercises and ways of taking care of my arm will pay off in the long run. In dedication of this surgery I got a tattoo on my scar of baseball laces to remind me of what the surgery did to me, and next to that tattoo is the saying “To whom much is given much is tested.” That is a verse from the Bible, Luke 12:48, to me it’s a reminder that God has blessed me with the ability to play such a beautiful game, and that I should put in work to better myself and not waste my given talents and to do it in the name of the Lord. This surgery made me realize that no one should take things for granted in life because at any point God can take them away from us. We should cherish what we have and take care of it for the future. 83% of Tommy John surgeries turn out successfully and at the age of 17, I was one of the success stories. As an athlete, I have come to realize that those who have been blessed with a talent like mine should wait until the next day to take care of your arm, because maybe it won’t be there tomorrow.