Archaeologist to get back to digging with help of local icon

A Bay area archaeologist will soon be able to return to his love of fossils, thanks to some help from a local cycling icon.

Brian Evenson, the self-proclaimed "Fossil Man," has been digging up artifacts around the Bay area since he was 9 years old, but his passion for excavation came to a halt a few weeks ago when he cut his leg.

"Within three days, I got an infection, and within a week and a half, it was past the point of saving my leg," Evenson said.

Evenson, who once found the remains of an 18-foot ground sloth in Pinellas County, said he was terrified at the prospect of no longer being able to walk.

"I'm the sort of person that goes out, hunts fossils and Indian relics, so to be bound to a wheelchair was pretty scary for me," he said.

That's when cyclist "Boston Bill" Hansbury stepped in. Hansbury lost his own leg to MRSA two years ago. He started the Boston Bill Foundation to help people like Evenson get back on their feet.

"When you raise money to give someone a limb, you want to make sure they're going to use it, they're going to go out and use it," Hansbury said.

Doctors at St. Petersburg Limb & Brace are getting Evenson's new leg ready. He should have it in a few days, and that after he gets used to his new leg, he should be able to get back to doing what he loves.

Evenson said he can't wait to try it out.

"The people at St. Pete Limb & Brace told me they were going to give me a Friday night leg, a digging leg," he said.