Biker Chick Rides On
by Tonya Taylor
Growing up around boys, Tonya Taylor was surrounded by dirt bikes and motorcycles and always wanted in on the action. She got her wish when she purchased her first bike in 2001 and the Hilliard, Ohio resident has been riding ever since.
To Taylor, her Harley-Davidson Road King is her escape. "I always say my bike can turn the worst of days into the best. All the junk that clings to you just flies away when you’re on a bike."Taylor, a regional sales director for an awards company, enjoys riding her bike with a group of girlfriends she calls "professional chicks by day, Harley-Davidson chicks by night!"
On August 27, 2008, Taylor was meeting some of her friends for a 10-day motorcycle ride to Rhode Island. Taylor stopped at an exit outside of Columbus to meet up with another rider and was hit by a car and thrown from her bike.
"The car ran a red light and pulled out right in front of me," said Taylor. Though she was wearing a helmet, Taylor was unconscious at the scene and rushed to Grant Medical Center. Luckily, after spending more than eight hours in the hospital, Taylor was discharged though she was injured. "I blew out my right knee, I had muscle tears, cuts and internal and external bruising," said Taylor.
Her knee injury was quite severe and required multiple donor tissue transplants. Taylor underwent extensive therapy for eight months to regain mobility. She is able to walk today because someone said "yes" to donation. "I am very grateful to my tissue donor," said Taylor, "Thanks to him or her I can walk again!"
Just recently Taylor was able to get back on her bike and "Ride On" thanks to her tissue donor. She hopes her story will inspire other motorcyclists to register as organ and tissue donors.
Return to Personal Stories
