What goes through your mind when you get injured?

[jigneshsoni 0]

I am sure many of you had some or the other injuring while skydive?

I was interested to know what are the thoughts you have in mind for next 30 min, next 3 hours, next 3 days and next 3 weeks?

I am a student and have been through a lot to become to sky diver. I am very working hard to do this or maybe beating myself too hard. If you of you interested in what I have been through you can look at all my posts to get an idea.

I reason I came up with this post is becuase my last skydive did not go so well. I wanted to share my thoughs after the sky dive and wanted to know the same with many of you of went through a similar experience.

OK here is mine:
I had a hard landing and both my ankles and kness are hurt. Can't explain the degree of hurt, but will try my best to give you the idea. I can walk, isn't that cool? but I can walk very slowly, limping a bit. I will be going to the doctor and try to get more details. PM me if any of you interested in more details of the injuries. But that's not my point of creating this post. The point is what goes through your mind when such a thing happens. To me as soon as I landed, I felt I might have broken both my legs for good. Since I was thinking all this, I do not get up from the ground for almost 10-15 seconds. it might have given ideas to other people that this is major, but thank god it was not so. I got up and started walking, even though slow.

My right ankle was hurting, not so bad though. At that time I was convinced that this is not so bad. So stop worrying tooo much. But still I had lost awareness of place and time and everything happening around me since I was upset and sad on why did this happen and why I am stuggling so hard to get this. Why does it goes so easy for most of the people. Later why I was driving home, there were lots of negative thoughts. "SHOULD I BE SKYDIVING" Is this natures indication that I should STOP SKYDIVING? It was making me feel very depressed and sad. I am convined that there is skydiving is not much of a physical thing. It's all just the mind thing. I did not like the feeling I was not able to get something so simple. OK I know most of you think I am beating myself so much, but read on.......

All these thoughs were only for around 45 min. I am not sure what happened after that, but suddenly I started feeing better, I was not feeling sad anymore. I felt I can still do this. there is nothing about sky diving that I cannot do it. If 1000's of people can do it, there is no reason I cannot do it. AND I AM GOING TO DO THIS. I now started feeling bad that my legs are injured and I might not be able to jump next weekend. Right now I want to skydive more then I ever wanted to. I just can't wait to do it again and do it all right this time.

Comments? and your experience will much apppreciated.

[dharma1976 0]

when I broke my leg all I could think about was learning enough so that I wouldnt fuck up like that again

then when I bulged out three discs I thought about whether or not I would be able to skydive again and spent a lot of time working on muscle groups to help heal the bulging discs...

I tend to work on things to help me keep skydiving as opposed to thinking about whether or not I should skydive again

Cheers

Dave

http://www.skyjunky.com

CSpenceFLY - I can't believe the number of people willing to bet their life on someone else doing the right thing.

[RandomLemming 0]

On my first injury, all I could think of was 'How the hell am I going to tell people about this _and_ retain some sense of dignity and mystique?'

I had an off landing one field over from the DZ. Getting back to the DZ, I fell while climbing a fence and did my ankle in but good!

[Springbock 0]

DejaVu,

Last Saturday I made my first CRW Jump. It was good fun and worked well but the Canopy is somewhat tricky to Land. However, on my approach it came to my mind that I don't get that thing to Land standing so I did an impressive PLF, at least that what my fellow Jumpers told me. Getting on my feet again and walking to my Friends I then fell over the "security" Fence which holds the Whuffos out of the Landingfield. No I have 6 Weeks Pause jumping. I really don't care of what others thinking, to my mind comes only "shit happends"

Take care up there

Martin

Take care up there!

[Brains 2]

I broke the tibia in my right leg In February 2006.
Thoughts 30 seconds after i landed when another jumper asked if i was alright, " Nope, just broke my leg" Then my thoughts changed to needing to go to the hospital without paying for an ambulance or helicopter ride, to stuff i had to do at work the next day, etc. On the ride to the hospital, (girlfriend driving) I called my swooping mentor and started asking him all kinds of questions about what i did wrong, what could i have done differently etc. At the hospital i was only thinking about the injury itself and how bad was it. After surgery is when the doubt about what i should be doing hit me. I was very down on myself for a while and contemplated getting a larger canopy, not swooping anymore etc. Later my thoughts were only on wanting to get back in the air and working with PT etc. to get myself back there. I ended up putting two jumps on a larger canopy, then going back to my regular main and haven't looked back. I still think about it sometimes, but i am happy doing what i am doing so i will keep it up.

Never look down on someone, unless they are going down on you.

[Orange1 0]

heh - i broke both my ankles (at the same time). my very first thought was "so soon?" (i had always known the chances of breaking an ankle to be pretty high) and then immediately "f*ck, that was so stupid, i'm so embarrassed". The next few hours were more centred around not freaking my family out, persuading the hospital staff not to cut my jumpsuit and that it really didn't hurt and i didn't want painkillers (must have been the adrenaline cos it hurt like hell for the next month or two). Following surgery i went through the whole "should i jump again" thing... had a chat with someone who had witnessed everything & figured out exactly what went wrong... and went through it all in my head but it really didn't take me that long to decide i wasn't going to quit. I was off for 6 months, and when i got back - expecting to be terrified and go unstable and half expecting to break my ankle again on landing - my recurrency jump was textbook, from a perfectly stable exit to a soft stand up landing.

I do believe you are right - this is very much a mental thing. But you sound like you are getting on the right side of that one

Skydiving: wasting fossil fuels just for fun.

[DSE 3]

Bruised my heel; lots of weird air and when my canopy suddenly lost air, rather than flaring better, I stabbed it and hit a heel harder than I should have.
What did/am I thinking? Ouch. Dammit. "Pull your foot back up cuz you've maybe already broken it." Whew, I didn't. Remember to not do this again.
If you're thinking you'll do this again, you probably will. Remembering means walking through it and thinking what you could have done better. Thinking about what you could have done better should help you visualize a better/more proper landing. Focus on the good landing in your mind, and you'll likely have the better landing.
If you're really concerned, you might want to hire an instructor to help you with a radio for a couple of jumps, just like in AFF. It might be that your canopy is out of trim if it's a rental. It might be your wingloading isn't proper for your experience. It might...might...might...
But as far as the pain, it's usually fleeting in the bigger scheme. Consider it part of the learning curve.
More information about "why" you were hurt might be more helpful.

[monkycndo 0]

Broke my fibula last December. What ran through my head? "How many jump tickets is this going to cost me?"

50 donations so far. Give it a try.

You know you want to spank it
Jump an Infinity

[beowulf 1]

Great answer!!!


I think we have a winner! For the best answer!

[Andrewwhyte 1]

Your knee.

[Andy_Copland 0]

I heard a guy say something similar to a tandem student.

"Hey you know what the last thing to go through your mind will be? His mind" then points at the TM

Anyway back on track. I havn't busted myself up skydiving yet *knock on wood* but have been injured and jumped anyway which was seriously not smart. I broke a couple of ribs and decided 3 weeks healing time was fine, even though the slightest tough was agony still.

"please done hurt, please dont hurt..... wow, that hurts"

1338

People aint made of nothin' but water and shit.

Until morale improves, the beatings will continue.

[JohnRich 4]

"OUCH!"

[Ether 0]

I experienced a nasty object strike on jump #15 (see my avatar), due to a variety of conditions: new DZ with different altitude, temperature, humidity, ground conditions, unfamiliar markings; different equipment; my own stupidity and failure to read the winds correctly.

Since my toggle input didn't make any difference to my heading at this last moment, I knew I didn't know very much in advance that I was going to hit (the winds were strong and variable), but in my memory it feels like it took a very long time. I remember everything about the impact, including the bounce backwards onto the ground and the canopy falling down around me, and thinking quickly "I don't feel anything; what have I hurt?" The next thing I knew, I heard people shouting and running towards me, and I felt horribly guilty, knowing that I had caused my wonderful hosts to think that I had gone in. During the next few minutes, while several people assisted in checking my vitals (I will *definitely* be working to upgrade my medical knowledge and training in the near future), at the top of my mind was a strong need to prove that I wasn't too damaged, so as to assuage some of this guilt. I also couldn't help but feel proud of the skydive itself (I had accomplished several new things in freefall this time out), which made everyone laugh: "typical skydiver -- all busted up and she still says 'but the freefall was great!'".

I decided the best I could do to make things right was to buy lots of beer, give out lots of hugs, and demonstrate all the lessons I had learned from that experience. Ultimately it came out being a net positive: I will heal stronger than before, and my ego has been sufficiently smacked down that I won't behave like many cocky novices I have met and read about.

Looking for newbie rig, all components...

[D22369 0]

when I broke my leg at about jump 30. all I felt besides pain was embarrasment... I knew i was gonna be getting a lot of static from my friends... and wondering how long it was going to be before i could jump again.


Roy

They say I suffer from insanity.... But I actually enjoy it.

[sunshine 2]

I broke my fibula 3 years ago. I honestly thought about giving up jumping cause i didn't wanna go thru the pain of breaking a bone again. That lasted a few days, then i realized i couldn't give up jumping and i would just have to learn from my mistake and try to land safer.

___________________________________________
meow

I get a Mike hug! I get a Mike hug!

[Jingleballs 0]

Quote

I had a hard landing and both my ankles and kness are hurt. Can't explain the degree of hurt, but will try my best to give you the idea. I can walk, isn't that cool? but I can walk very slowly, limping a bit. I will be going to the doctor and try to get more details. PM me if any of you interested in more details of the injuries. But that's not my point of creating this post. The point is what goes through your mind when such a thing happens.

I had a similar injury on my very first jump.

I was on radio instruction from the ground, they had talked two previous jumpers to the spot, and they were doing a great job of controlling my canopy flight, so I basically stopped thinking and just followed instructions.

I came down faster than they expected, and at the last minute realized that I would not be clearing the barbed wire/electric fence between me and the landing site. Only then did I start to flare, much too late.

I landed hard and injured my right knee. I didn't realize it was going to be a hard landing until I was a couple of feet from the ground, so I didn't think much before the injury. I remember falling over, and then I was crumpled on the ground, feeling pain in my right leg. I don't think I ever thought it was broken, but it hurt more than it should. I decided to stay put until the ground crew could clear the two small fences separating me from the landing spot.

They asked me to give a thumbs-up, so I did. By that time, the initial pain was subsiding, so I changed my mind about staying put, got up and hobbled over to the fence, which I was able to climb under. I think at this point, what was in my mind was that my first response of "oh, no, I'm injured" was an overreaction, and I was being a bit of a baby.

After that, I was hobbling a bit, but definitely able to walk. So I figured it would just clear up. I took a bus home, walked a few blocks, and put the leg up.

By about 8 hours after the jump, the joint was swelling and I could no longer bear weight on the leg. I decided to go down to emergency, where they took some x-rays, diagnosed it as a sprain or tear of the medial collateral ligament, and gave me a full-leg brace. They said it would heal up in a matter of days if it was a sprain, and weeks if it was a tear.

So, I wasn't worried at any point that I had injured myself permanently to the point where I wouldn't be able to walk, or anything like that. However, I think at this point I was already beginning to wonder whether this meant I couldn't jump again.

But I can't remember whether I asked that question out loud at emergency, or whether I asked it a few days later when I saw a specialist. I was told that I could probably jump again in two months, but that I should probably wear a knee brace when I do.

Now it is about three weeks later, and I'm still limping, although my physiotherapist says it is basically all in my head at this point.

I'm going to wait for the two-month point and see whether I still feel like jumping. Today, I do. But I don't know how I'll feel in the future, so I'm not setting myself any targets, other than to do my physio exercises, stay in shape, and practice walking normally!

By the way, I was very glad to read in your post that you planned to see a doctor. I wish I hadn't waited 10 hours before hauling myself down to emergency.

Hope this helps.

The world is one giant drop zone now, Bonnie! - Seth Blake

[jigneshsoni 0]

Thank you very much to all of you who repsonded to my post. I just wanted to share my thought process since this has happened:

1) When this happened, for first 20 seconds, I felt I have broken both my legs.

2) When I stood up and a attempted to walk, it didn't hurt so bad. So I felt I am going to be fine.

3) Later within 15-20 min, it felt that I am hurt enough that I definitely cannot jump the same day.

4) Later realized that I am hurt enough that I might not jump for several weeks. At this point I got all the negative thoughs about "WHY i AM DOING THIS" ? This lasted only for around 20-30 min.

5) After that I just felt this is part of the sport and I am doing this becuase I love this. I will do this as long as I can.

6) It's been around 2 days now. I am healing faster then I thought and I want to sky dive more then I ever wanted to.

Can't wait to heal completely and jump again

[RkyMtnHigh 0]

Hey Jigs,
I've had my share of hard landings which have affected my ankles and knees (even during Scott Miller's Canopy Control Course back at Jump #70). Thankfully I haven't been injured more than a sprain but honestly (and I AM being honest here) even those injuries could and should have been avoided IF I finished my flare...allllll the way.

But to answer the question of your post...the thought that went through my mind has been "Oh My God...this is going to hurt..oh shit...not again.." and "That'll teach me what NOT to do".
I'm NOT going to put a smiley or a laugh behind that either because it is NOT funny. Injury is a major setback. Injury CAN be avoided if you plan ahead, get proper coaching, and focus. I'll leave you with a great saying from a wingsuiter friend of mine: "Relax, Focus, Flow..." (by that I mean to visualize your perfect dive flow...and your perfect landing...If you can see it you can be it!)
All the best to you! Hang in there...dont give up.

_________________________________________

[Zarkon 0]

Last Saturday after my AFF6 I landed without full flaring(more like half breaks). The moment I felt the ground touch my feet I thought 'Oh shit this is a bit fast'. I'm not sure why I wasn't able to PLF, but when I came to a stop my left leg was bent around to my side. I have never broken a bone before, so I looked at it and thought 'so this is what a broken ankle feels like? Not too painful after all'. Like most other posts here, I moved my leg and found it wasn't broken and hobbled off. Walked around testing it for a couple hours to decide whether or not I could do my last AFF jump that day, but found that it was getting worse as time passed so I went home. The next day I woke up and my whole foot was swollen and black and blue, so I gave in and went to the ER. Results were it was a nasty sprain, got an air cast and crutches. Now I'm just icing it and taking a lot of Ibproffin praying that I'll be able to jump tomorrow or Sunday. Never once did I reconsider participating in the spot, but was/am concerned about getting the 'bowling speech' after all my shitty landings. Hopefully I've learned my lesson, and wont do that again!

[stayhigh 2]

How much this will cost me???

Bernie Sanders for President 2016

[Genn 0]

"Oh Shit!" (not that bad but has potential)

"Oh Fuck!" (usually pretty bad)

Almost always followed by, "I fucked up!"

[franciscob 0]

"I fucked up" it's a positive reaction
I broke up my knee cap after an incredibly stupid move. Turned downwind sudenly (WHYY?!) and landed in asphalt instead of green grass . I resumed skydiving 3 months after surgery (removed knee cap:..) a 1,5 year I rebroke a bone ...an ankle this time.. Bad evaluation fo jumping conditions...too windy and very narrow landing area, shouldn't have jumped in the first place. I resumed jumping again but somehow I became maybe overcareful and avoid jumping unless the wether confitions are perfect! For me it was a bit traumatizing stuff. And I admit that in the first moments after resuming skydiving I still thought a lot of anything that could go wrong. We must think of it , sure, but maybe not that much...

[sraja 0]

On jump #28, I mistimed my flare and badly bruised my tailbone. To make matters worse, I was visiting a dropzone in winter and this happened on the second day. I couldnt jump for the next 5 days and it felt like a real "bummer". Over the next few months of winter I spent a lot of time really wondering if I would ever regain the confidence to jump. On my first jump back, I took the radio and went up - and ever since then I have looked at that injury as a learning experience.

[chrismgtis 0]

Quote

I was interested to know what are the thoughts you have in mind for next 30 min, next 3 hours, next 3 days and next 3 weeks?

Um.

"Ouch, that hurt. When is the next load going up?"

Realistically...
1. Ouch.
2. Can I make another jump today?

I've never gotten hurt that bad, but if I did it would probably continue with these thoughts:

3. Damnit, how soon can I jump again doctor? 3 months? Ah. 2 months, gotcha.

4. How many jumps is this going to cost me?

Rodriguez Brother #1614, Muff Brother #4033
Jumped: Twin Otter, Cessna 182, CASA, Helicopter, Caravan

[AFFI 0]

Quote

there is nothing about sky diving that I cannot do it. If 1000's of people can do it, there is no reason I cannot do it. AND I AM GOING TO DO THIS.
Right now I want to skydive more then I ever wanted to. I just can't wait to do it again and do it all right this time.

Sounds to me like you are a skydiver.
I knew when I did my first jump that I was going to be an instructor because skydiving delivered me from a deep depression and helped me, no delivered me from a bottomless quagmire of despair. I have been surprised how many of the students that I have worked with over the years have similar stories.

For me, skydiving became the most important aspect of existence because while I do it, all my problems issues and worries just fade away, without it I would not be alive today…

Seems like you appreciate skydiving like I do so hang in there.

Mykel AFF-I10
Skydiving Priorities: 1) Open Canopy. 2) Land Safely. 3) Don’t hurt anyone. 4) Repeat…