LAKEWOOD RANCH -- It was a knee injury that would make any linebacker or running back cringe.

Torn ACL (anterior cruciate ligament), torn PCL (posterior cruciate ligament), and torn miniscus (knee cartilege).

Robin Parsons, business development director for the Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance, suffered the injury in April in a freak accident at the Ritz Carlton Golf Club at Lakewood Ranch.

She was driving a golf cart and picking up tee signs at the conclusion of the Alliance's annual golf tournament when she hit a curb and was thrown out of the cart.

"She was so calm about it. I came into the clubhouse and she was sitting there with an ice pack on her knee," said Alliance member Craig Cerreta.

Although she was not feeling any pain, sherealized something was wrong and that night at the tournament banquet, ironically sponsored by Lakewood Ranch Medical Center, she asked if there might be a doctor who could take a look at her knee.

Dr. Daniel S. Lamar Jr. of Coastal Orthopedics and Sports Medicine was at her table and was able to determine she would need treatment.

On July 15, she had the surgery to repair her knee and recently returned to work.

"I had never broken a bone, needed a stitch or been in a hospital before," Parsons said.

She expects to be on the mend for the next few months.

Parsons, who has helped grow the Alliance to more than 450 members, picked up one more after the accident. "Coastal Orthopedics and Sports Medicine ended up joining the Alliance," Parsons said.

James A. Jones Jr., East Manatee editor, can be contacted at 941-745-7021 or tweet@jajones1.