Dealing with the reality of death and injury – enlighten a rookie!

[NewGuy2005 51]

Don't quit. If you do quit, don't sell your gear.

[OlympiaStoica 0]

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Don't quit. If you do quit, don't sell your gear.

This conversation was never about quiting. I wish I had what it takes to walk away from something I enjoy so much. Being in the sport might get me injured (again) or killed; walking away from it all will make feel dead already ...

O

[DrewEckhardt 0]

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Those of you that have been around awhile, how do you deal with the reality of having friends get injured or die? Does it give you any pause? Does it cause you to re-evaluate your decision of being in the sport?

O

You just live with it.

It sucks most when your friends die, followed by other people getting killed, getting injured, your friends getting injured (unless they needed a wakeup call before they got dead or hurt worse), and then other people getting broken (with the same exception).

You know some people are going to die and just enjoy them as long as they're still around and are pleasantly surprised when something happens that causes them to wise up first (like a cardiac event in the plane from too much Columbian marching powder followed by sobriety and not doing other stupid things).

[plowdirt 0]

Short of reading any other post, beyond the responces you have already, I would like to clarify somthing.. This is a way of life. After your first couplr of jumps I'll bet you couldn't walk outside of any door to the world outside and not look up.. Bamm and it got you.. That smile that feeling of knowing you have been apart of the heavens tasted the air nad touched clouds, is beyond imaginantion. Till then.

My short lived life in the skydiving community was the time of my life.. I always had that thought in the back of my head, injury, death. One day after a long hiatus from jumping I went back and said I have a baby now,, and it wasn't the same. So I savored my experiences and the people I met and the love I have for this way of life.

Now. The injuries and deaths are apart of it.... If I were to die, everybody knew I would have died doing someting I had loved.. And Thats how I see the tragedies which unfold from time to time.

It's hard to see injury, it's from mistakes. So are some of the deaths. Some were meant to be in the air, which seem so typical thats how that person should have gone. Some are so very tragic it leaves you tinking, i sthis for me.

This question you ask, it's truely for yourself.. It's your decision, I made mine, and still love this way of life emencly.

How did I deal?? said a lil prayer kept those people in my thoughts, and jumped on another load.

Now here is sonthing else I would do... I would take a step back take a deep breath and slow down for a sec. Gather yourself and keep yur head on a swivle. You will make less mistakes.

P.S. Don't pay attention to the ball busters on here or the skygods of the boogies and DZ's.. They started out with one jump just like you.

Have fun be safe There's some beautiful people you will meet enjoy every moment.

oh yea, don't push the injury, heal you'll have plenty of time to jump. or you'll be recovering much longer.

[crustySCSA69 0]

at the risk of sounding 'smartass' almost every fatality and almost every injury (I know, you can do everything right, make all the 'right' choices, and still end up dead... and you can also simply get hit by lightning)
was DIRECTLY attributable to CHOICES made by the victim.

50% of all fatalities are people screwing themselves into the ground under arguably operable parachutes... they CHOSE to jump those kind of parachutes ... you can acquire a ram-air that has a very low probability of this kind of thing ever happening ... but they CHOOSE these parachutes... while I feel sympathy, I am certainly not going to get all busted up over what happens ..

same with injuries... people CHOOSE this equipment, they don't have to and you don't have to .. but if you CHOOSE it .. and something BAD happens, I will feel sympathy and I will also think 'what a dumb shit'

i think it is totally insane that 50% of all deaths are under flying parachutes (maybe they are flying straight at the ground, but let's face it, they CHOSE canopies that could do that) and there is no enormous uproar ....

in the bad old days, the low pullers were castigated, 'that's bad for the image of the sport'... 'when they die, it just hurts us all' ... yet, I can't think of a single low-puller (and I knew a fair number of them) that EVER died low pulling.. motorcycles..yes, rolling cars.. yes, canopy collisions..yes (not the fault of the low puller, who might have been on the ground instead of getting run into if he had low-pulled in that particular jump)

I know, the flood of replies will start about this or that bounce due to a low pull... just make sure in your examples it was not an intentional low pull by an experienced low puller, please)

but 1 think I guaran-damn-tee is there was NEVER a year wher 12-14 people went in, intentionally low pulling ..

but this equipment that so many CHOOSE is not being castigated as dangerous and unsafe .. the difference is of course, no one made a buck off a low puller

the hypocrisy is breathtaking

so, simply
CHOOSE equipment that has a low probability of killing you (or that you are unlikely to get into a configuration that will kill you)

CHOSE to land in such a way, that it is almost impossible to get in a life threatening state

and when someone is hurt (or worse) because of their own CHOICES, shrug your shoulders and don't sweat it... they CHOSE that risk, you didn't