“My motto is no bad days. Just keep your head up and keep going,” she said. “I’m definitely one of the lucky ones. Being born at the time that I was and being seen by my adoptive parents, it has just been an opportunity that I will never take for granted. Most kids in my situation never got the opportunity to play the sports they wanted, or to have great friends and family. I’m in the best place possible right now.”

-Excerpt from Lera Doederlein 's interview by Helene Elliot for LA Times 03/2020