BUCYRUS — When Stevi and JR Addison said their vows to one another during their wedding in February, they had no idea that in September, they would come to fully understand the meaning of “in sickness and in health.”
JR, a champion American Flat Track Motorcycle Racer, was critically injured in a crash during a race at the Minnesota Mile on Sept. 21.
“I never left him,” said Stevi, who raced motorcycles for seven years and met JR at a race in Marion that she also participated in.
JR, the 2016 Rookie of the Year, said he does not remember the accident but has video of the crash.
“I was going into a corner slide-in and I hit the berm. I flipped over the front of the motorcycle and hit the air fence, bounced off and the bike went one way and I went another way,” JR said.
He was traveling at a speed of 100 miles per hour at the time of the crash.
Stevi said her husband had three small brain bleeds, a fractured vertebra in his neck, 18 broken ribs, a broken sternum, shoulder blade and collar bone.
“He also had three fractures in his back and both of his lungs were collapsed, and he has nerve damage,” Stevi said.
JR currently is in therapy several times per week and the couple is hopeful his nerve damage is only temporary.
Stevi, who stopped racing a few years ago, after she was involved in a crash, stayed by her husband’s bedside throughout his 26-day hospital stay.
JR, a Colonel Crawford graduate, said he will ride and race again someday.
“It’s not something I can completely walk away from,” JR said. “It’s been such a big part of my life forever.”
Stevi, who works at Ohio Mutual Insurance Group in Bucyrus, said she wants her husband to have fun.
“I don’t want him to race again but I am not going to be the one to stop him,” she said.
Stevi said JR has medical insurance but there are many out-of-pocket expenses. JR, a worker at ABC Interiors, a business owned by his father Roy, has been unable to work since the crash.
A friend of the couple, Mark Betti, is hosting a benefit for JR to help pay for his medical costs Dec. 14 from 2 to 10 p.m. at Lincoln Way Recreation Center, 2817 Ohio 602, north of North Robinson.
The event will feature live music from country and southern rock band Honey Compass from 6 to 10 p.m., auctions, a 50/50 drawing and plenty of food. The dinner that features pulled pork, sides and a drink, is $8 per person and will be served from 3 to 7 p.m.
Kim Addison, JR’s mom, said that people can bring their own beverages and coolers are welcome. She thanks everyone for their support in advance.
For more information or to donate to the event, call Kim Addison at 419-563-4533, Chris Spears at 419-689-2365 or Mark Betti at 419-562-0529.