My name is Kristi Evans. On September 13, 2021 my life was changed forever. Here is my story:

 

The only activity I love more than riding my motorcycle is riding my motorcycle to murals to take pictures of my bike in front of the murals. September 10-12, 2021 were the Douglas Avenue Art Days – when local artists paint murals on blank walls on Douglas Avenue. I had missed the actual event because a club sister and I had gone to a women’s rally in College Station, TX. What a weekend it was. We rode our bikes down to Galveston to ride along the beach, then back to College Station, joining hundreds of women from all over the country to ride through downtown College Station, TX. As much fun as I was having, I was stoked thinking about the photo ops that awaited me back home!

 

Monday September 13, 2021, I got off work and my best friend was going to come over to watch a movie with me and my daughter. I was too excited to wait. I needed to see the new murals and just get one or two pictures before my best friend got to my house. I made my way down Douglas Avenue, got some really great shots, and was headed back toward my house on Douglas when a woman, turning into a liquor store, failed to pause as she made a left turn. I remember the sound of her car hitting my 2019 Street Bob. I remember being ejected from the bike and rolling on the ground. I remember sitting up and looking at my arms and hands. No injuries. I felt my face and my head. No injuries. I thought, “My God. I made it through my first motorcycle accident unscathed.” At that moment I noticed the blood on the left leg of my jeans. I looked closer and saw what was left of my left leg. I will never forget trying to put it back together as I screamed for someone to call 911. I knew in that moment my life was going to be different. Not one I wanted. One I would have to endure. As I lay in the road expecting to die from the injury I sustained, I felt a wave of peace. It wasn’t until I was in the ambulance that I lost consciousness though.

 

Over the next few days I was completely overwhelmed, and not knowing a single person who had ever experienced an amputation, I was uncertain of what to expect or what came next. The new reality of how my life would look, was a confusing and frustrating time that included doctor visits, costly medical bills, many daily medications (not something I was used to as I practiced a holistic approach to my healthcare), and learning to live life in a new way. Even though I was told I “shouldn’t” ever ride again, I was determined I someday would.

 

Of course, my family stood beside me, as did my family in Krome Kitties, and my husband's family in Fire & Iron. Bikers and the club life tend to get a bad rap or are stereotyped as bad people. For me, the two clubs made sure that my family was fed every day through a meal train. They coordinated our daughter’s school pick-up and my doctor appointments to ensure that my husband could focus on the many responsibilities with which he was suddenly tasked, and I could focus on recovering. One Fire & Iron member even purchased the lumber, so the club brothers could build a ramp for my wheelchair and rearranged schedules to build the ramp into the night when they learned I was returning home sooner than expected.

 

I was fitted for a prosthesis and worked diligently to become active again. Recently, I received a prosthesis called a running blade to begin learning to run. I am still a member of the Krome Kitty Motorcycle Club and purchased a Can-Am in 2023. I am absolutely ecstatic about being back on the road with my friends and family within my club.

 

Early on, there were more days that I wished I hadn’t survived the accident then there were days I was thankful to be alive. Sometimes I still feel that way. Sometimes when I look around at all the support I’ve had, I still feel alone. Sometimes it’s easier to relate to other amputees than people I’ve known my whole life. Even with all the people who rallied around me, the one thing that was missing was peer support. Someone who had experienced what I had experienced and could shine a flashlight of knowledge down the dark hall I was trying to navigate. Interestingly, rehab attempted to provide me with a peer counselor. She was a right, below the knee amputee who lost her leg to bone cancer. Not someone who could relate to me in any other way than, she was missing part of her body. I love the goal of providing financial support and wrap around services to injured bikers who don’t have the amazing support I had. To that end, my hope as part of this nonprofit is that Mayhem USA can offer peer support. Not just provide a peer that has experienced limb loss, but a match that can serve as a guide to the new amputee for what to expect on their journey.

 

Today, I live in Wichita, KS with my wonderful husband and beautiful daughter. My brother, Russ Stenseng, watched the biker community come together to help me. He will tell his own story, as the force behind beginning Mayhem USA.