A neuroscientist turned OnlyFans model suffered a near-fatal motorcycle crash caused by a bird — leaving her to confront life with memory loss.
Mercedes Valentine’s obsession with biking began with fond memories of riding around with her dad as a little girl before buying on one her own — but her dream quickly turned into a nightmare.
While out for a ride, the 25-year-old stunner hit a pigeon head on, suffering a near-fatal crash. Valentine broke her nose, skull, shoulder and four ribs. She also suffered a smashed eye socket and shattered pelvis.
On top of the physical despair, Valentine also suffered from memory loss, not being able to remember anything from a month before and thereafter.
Now, she wakes up every day feeling like someone different.
“When I open my eyes, I sometimes don’t even recognize myself,” she told NeedToKnow. “Because I function differently and can’t remember most things, it’s like my brain is someone else’s.”
She continued, “It’s been really confusing and emotionally challenging to come to terms with. I’ve had to start living, and adapting to doing so, as a different person.”
Before the incident occurred in the summer of 2024, Valentine was at the top of her career, having just bought a house for over $900,000 and a blue Porsche Taycan Turbo for over $100,000.
She spent the day prior celebrating her parents’ 60th birthdays and retirement, but when the family left to return home, Valentine took her motorcycle instead of going in the car with everyone else.
“I wasn’t being clever and was going very fast down a residential street where there was a pigeon on the lamppost above me,” she admitted. “As I approached, it swooped down and not knowing what it was at the time, I tried to avoid it. But then it hit me head on and I swerved.”
When she swerved, the bike crashed into a parked car at the side of the road, and Valentine was “flung” 260 feet into the air and landed six houses down from where she was initially.
Bystanders called an ambulance for help, and luckily her family was driving behind her, so her mom, dad and older sister — all of whom are doctors — were able to help on the spot.
“I was lying in the road for about two minutes before they arrived. I was blue and not responding, my pupils were dilated and it was assumed I was dead,” Valentine shared.
“My dad ultimately saved my life, as he took off my helmet to stop it from choking me and stop the bleeding as best he could.”
Valentine was escorted to the hospital to get MRIs and scans, and it was discovered that she lost over three liters of blood from the incident — which proved remarkable considering two liters lost is usually fatal.
“For the next two days, they hacked away at my face, stomach and pelvis, trying to stitch everything up. I’m basically half metal now because of all the pins and plates in me,” she shared.
The doctors expected that Valentine could potentially go blind or have double vision once everything was healed and that she’d also have total limb numbness.
The model — who also suffers from Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which causes weak joints and bones — was unconscious until a week later.
“It was likely that I’d need full-time care, as I wouldn’t be able to function independently,” she said. “But when I woke up, I was as chill as can be.”
“Everyone around was completely devastated, worrying if I’d ever be the same again. Yet, I was on cloud nine, probably because of all the morphine I was on.”
But the doctors “weren’t concerned” about the loss of her memory considering the accident. At the time, she could only remember her boyfriend’s name, Mark, and all her family members — friends and events, including the accident, were out of her memory.
After one month in the hospital, Valentine was discharged to go home and adjust to life again — and that’s when she realized just how bad her memory loss was.
“It was shocking and traumatizing,” she shared. “I’d be at the gym, and someone would say hello and I’d have no clue who they were.”
“I quickly had to come to terms with the fact that my memory was never coming back,” she added. “Time is completely warped to me now. I forget what day or month it is regularly. My boyfriend has to give me a run every day of what I’ve got on, otherwise I’d forget.”
Valentine has tried to return to making content, but people are often commenting on aspects of her looks that were caused by the accident, such as why her eye is bruised or her scars.
However, she’s been “really stubborn” and is determined to do what she wants to do — even riding the motorcycle again.
“Even after I was able to walk again, the first thing I did was jump back on my bike,” she admitted.
Though she shared that she “obviously” is very careful riding her bike now, going the speed limit and making sure someone is with her “at all times.”
“It was an unlucky coincidence, as if the pigeon had flown down a millisecond earlier or later, none of this would’ve happened,” Valentine said.
Valentine shared that it was her own fault that she got into the accident, and if she had been more careful from the start, she wouldn’t have ended up here.
She advised other bike riders to be aware of their surroundings, know their limits and always wear a helmet, because it ultimately saved her life.
“I’ve realized, though, it was my stupidity that landed me here and I really hope people learn from my ordeal to take care when riding motorbikes,” she said. “There’s a very slim chance between surviving and not knowing how much your life will change — or it being taken away completely.”
“It’s a really horrible thing I’ve been through, but I’ve come out the other side with a lot of things being better. In a way, I’m grateful for the near-death experience as it’s taught me a lot in resilience and what my body is capable of.”
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