Stepp-ing up: Amputee-athlete finds another obstacle to conquer in his story of resilience

In a life full of obstacles, New Mexico native Kyle Stepp, 30, has continued to move forward.

Despite bouncing in and out of foster care as a child, he found solace in community sports.

When he was a freshman in high school, he was diagnosed with stage four osteosarcoma, an aggressive form of bone cancer. For the next three years, he endured round after round of chemotherapy, surgeries and hospital stays. He found the strength to keep fighting through the nine other kids who were undergoing treatment alongside him.

“They were there with me at summer camps. They were there when I found out I was given a 20% chance to live, and those nine became my best friends,” Stepp said.

He ultimately received a limb salvage surgery, during which the tumor in his left leg was removed and his femur, knee and tibia were replaced with a stainless steel implant. This procedure was done in order to preserve his leg and avoid amputation. After the surgery, he was still in chronic pain but determined to keep moving forward.

He began riding his bike again and found an escape from the pain. But that escape would eventually lead to tragedy in 2020, when Stepp crashed while mountain biking at the Angel Fire Mountain Bike Park. The stainless steel implant in his leg was completely shattered and his leg would need to be amputated after all, as a result. Suddenly he found himself facing an entirely new reality.

“I don’t think you’re ever really prepared to live with a disability,” he said. “But when I became an amputee, I was thrown into the reality of our broken health care system and how it is not designed for people with disabilities.”

He has seen firsthand how people both in the United States and around the world have to fight to have access to the proper prosthetics in order to live their lives the way the wanted to. He also became an elite para-triathlete for Team USA and has completed in events around the world.

Through his advocacy, Stepp started working with groups around the world to improve access for people with disabilities. One of those groups is the Range of Motion Project, or ROMP, that Stepp said he “fell in love with.”

A nonprofit, the Range of Motion Project’s mission is to ensure people living in underserved communities around the world have access to high-quality prosthetic care that will improve their mobility and independence. Since its founding in 2005, ROMP has provided over 5,000 prosthetics to those in need, according to its website, rompglobal.org. One of its fundraisers is its annual hike, “Climbing for ROMP.”

This year’s hike marks the 10th anniversary of the Climbing for ROMP initiative, and the organization has the lofty goal of raising $500,000. For his part, Stepp will climb Cayambe Mountain in Ecuador, which is nearly 19,000 feet. This is one of three hikes taking place in Ecuador . Two other groups will be hiking Chimborazo, which is over 20,000 feet, and Cotopaxi, which is over 19,000 feet.

Stepp and the rest of the hikers are set to arrive in Ecuador on Friday evening, but he had to make a pit stop in Denver on Wednesday to pick up his specially made prosthetic hiking leg.

“I have an amazing prosthetist in Denver and we’ve built a mountaineering leg,” Stepp explained. “I’m climbing up a 19,000-foot glacier volcano and I’m going to be on ice and snow and I have to have a custom foot, so we did a bunch of (do-it-yourself) engineering to be able to make it work.”

After arriving in Ecuador, the hikers will spend several days working alongside patients with ROMP, helping fabricate sockets for their new prosthetics. They then will undergo climbing and glacier training as well. The hike up the mountains is set to begin Wednesday night, and the crews are hoping to reach the summit by Thursday morning.

When asked what continues to drive him to attempt these feats given everything he’s endured, Stepp paused before speaking once again of those nine best friends he made during his cancer treatment.

“Those nine kids are no longer with us, and they don’t get the opportunity to reach these summits or chase their dreams and for me,” he said. “I’m lucky enough to use my life for good and help others. It’s an immense privilege.”

Gino Gutierrez is the good news reporter at the Albuquerque Journal. If you have an idea for a good news story, you can contact him at goodnews@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3940.