JEFFERSON COUNTY, Ky. — A Kentucky woman has turned tragedy into triumph after a motorcycle crash changed her life. 

What You Need To Know

  • Elaine Skaggs was riding a motorcycle on Bardstown Road in 2015 when she was hit by a car and sustained injuries 

  • She's since had to re-learn how to walk and balance and uses a cane to aid her

  • Skaggs doesn't let these obstacles get in the way of living life to its fullest 

  • She's helping others do the same through nonprofit Moving Forward Limb Loss Network and Social Group 

She’s now working to help as many Kentuckians as possible live life to the fullest. 

At 58, Elaine Skaggs bought her first motorcycle. 

“When I first got my endorsement, all I would do was get on it and let it roll back to the end of the driveway and come back up the driveway very slowly,” Skaggs said. 

An endorsement is an addition to a person’s driver’s license, allowing them to legally operate a motorcycle and a car. 

In April 2015, she left a riding group and was traveling on Bardstown Road at a curve when a car hit her. 

“My left leg was crushed between his front panel of his car and my motorcycle," Skaggs said. "I hit the windshield and broke my clavicle and was thrown about 125 feet from the point of impact.” 

She's since had to re-learn how to walk and balance and uses a stylish purple cane to aid her. The grandmother and mother of two adult children uses a leg prosthesis now, which has Bible verses on part of it. 

“God had his reasons, and I have been so blessed, much more than I would’ve had this never happened to me," she said. 

Years ago, she joined the nonprofit Moving Forward Limb Loss Network and Social Group. She helps lead the group and writes a monthly newsletter that goes to more than 150 people nationwide. The main goal is to help people deal with amputation through monthly speakers, regular meetings, social outings, dieticians, physical therapists, resources and networking.

No membership is required. She wants to help as many people as she can.

“I have such a passion for it," she said. “I want to see it grow because there are so many people out there that don’t even know our group exists and they have nowhere to go for help and support. Even though that’s not our name anymore, that’s one thing that we do, is provide that support.”

Skaggs has had her prosthetic leg for two years, and driving isn’t a problem. Her advice to new amputees is to be patient and not give up. 

“There is life after amputation, and a lot of times, people forget that," Skaggs said. "They think once they’ve lost a limb, there’s nothing out there for them, but there is.”

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