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dropdeded

First Jump After Injury

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Im real close to gettin "back at it" and I know there are several dot commers grounded due to injuries right now.Im wondering how an injury affected other skydivers as far as that first time back in the air and beyond.
I imagine that last few hundred feet under canopy will probably be an interesting experience for me.My injury(low turn,broken leg)has been a blessing,even in the moments after I biffed the landing I was thinking that I learned a valuable lesson,cheap.I heard how dangerous low turns are and its not that I didnt believe it,I just didnt realize how fast that shit can happen.
This in no way will deter me from participating in this sport but I imagine it has caused more than a few people to stop jumping all together.So if you have been injured,how did it affect you on that first jump?Did it change your outlook on the sport ?

dropdeded
pcss#26
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The Dude Abides.
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whew... first i'm very glad to hear that you are alright. skydiving is a very interesting sport and everyone takes it a different way. for myself, i unfortunately got hurt twice (and not because i'm a girl!). After sitting in the hospital reminiscing and thinking and watching the personnel change shift after shift, i realized that i was in love with the sport. i didn't like the "real world"/society". i felt comfortable around a fun sport and its peoples. and i knew i couldn't wait to get back in the air and it was a real spiritual walk to do it. i realized that you have to skydive for you, not anyone else; stay ahead of the game and don't go too quick into doing the "cool" stuff... a long road later... i'm a three time national champ and a high perfomance canopy competitor, an AFF/I and a bunch of other fun stuff. BUT i don't think after getting hurt, i'd have reflected upon my life the way i did. so take your time, get better and take it slow.
missy
---
Missy Nelson
**Learning Never Stops**

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Not having injured myself where I had to take time off (frantically knocking wood), I would make the following suggestions but leavened with the appropriate measure of salt:
1. Make sure the winds are what you want.
2. Try to go on a light load, so you don't have lots of canopies to deal with.
3. Watch several loads - watch the winds, see if they're changeable.
4. Land in a safe area (not where everyone else is aiming for)
5. Prepare to be nervous, but don't let it run the flight.
6. Assuming you'll have to get recurrent, talk to your instructor about landing.
7. Take your time, the sky will wait for you. No need to rush it if everything is not to your liking.
8. If the students are grounded and the old jumpers are sitting out, you do the same (my best most favorite rule...).
9. Buy beer for later.

Have a ball!

Ciels-
Michele


~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

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i tore a ligament in my left arm 3 months ago skydiving,.. just got back in the air friday, i was totaly cool on the climb to altitude. i no longer felt immortal but i felt good.. i was going to work on my sit w/ the coach i went up with, but after 3 failed attempts to hold it , i aborted, and fell down the tube to 5000 popped the chute, it opened just fine, had a good stable position on deployment, and flew a tight little pattern on home.. i was really concerned about the last 15 feet as well, and i flared a little early, but it was all good.. a little plf and what not... i had built up some mental blocks that needed taken out of the picture, and now they're gone and i can get back into it.... 15 minutes after the jump and all and i mean all was right with the world......

Accelerate hard to get them looking, then slam on the fronts and rollright beside the car, hanging the back wheel at eye level for a few seconds. Guaranteed reaction- Dave Sonsky

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I tore my MCL and did ACL damage this summer. Barely didn't need surgery, did have to purchase a very expensive hinged knee brace, though. Also spent a good deal of time doing a lot of nothing taking a lot of vicadine. The sort of odd thing is that I was jumping the next weekend. The Doc said I could (I don't know if he meant it or if he knew I'd do it anyways), and I was doing ok. I couldn't pack because I could kneel down, it was a bitch in the plane (C-182), could run out my landings and if I wasn't wearing my brace, a lot of stuff would hurt really bad. Infact, now that I think of it, that was pretty stupid.

Moral of the story: don't be a moron (and don't drag a foot on landing).
--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline."

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I was scared as hell jumping again after my injury.
Actually felt physically sick from fear, and kept
asking myself, "Why am I doing this?"

Once I landed on the next jump, I knew why?
__________________________________________________

Its not really a fear thing,Im just wondering if when my feet touch the ground if Im gonna try and be easy on my right leg and end up screwin up a good landing.One way to find out eh ?

dropdeded
pcss#26
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The Dude Abides.
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Dont be afreaid of looking bad in the landing.Neither spare the "bad"leg too much,in that way you could end up,whith a broken leg,just in the other side..If your Doc. has told you its okay then use it until it hurts(meaning,dont overload it,but use it anyway).
good luck,im taking the same turn this spring[:/]


Stay safe
Stefan Faber

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The first jump back after my injury was the hardest one I ever had to do. I literally had to make myself do it against the wishes of my nervous stomach! Two hundred jumps later, it still has an effect on me. I actually think I'm a safer canopy pilot now than if I had never had the accident. I have no wish to do any kind of swooping or quick downsizing. I'm fine with plugging along at my own slow pace and letting everyone pass me by in their canopy progressions. Plowing yourself into the runway hurts like hell, and I don't want to experience it again!
She is Da Man, and you better not mess with Da Man,
because she will lay some keepdown on you faster than, well, really fast. ~Billvon

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I completely understand the feeling of getting back in the air after an injury. I managed to break my pelvis in 6 places, lost an artery down my right leg, and basically thought I would never jump again. But with persistence and a wonderful helper (Skratch), I was able to look at the possibility of getting back in the saddle. I bought a larger canopy and traded in my two smaller rigs, and after 6 months I went to Eloy (two years ago now) and have made more than 600 jumps back!

But those first few jumps were like being a student again. You definitely have to take it one jump at a time, and still hope for the best. You are not alone, coming back from an injury. And I don't think anyone can judge another's experience. It's very individual, just because I came back doesn't mean it's right for everyone.

DJan
(snowy Colorado day, that's why I'm not at the DZ)
DJan Stewart

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Hi Djan! Chile Relleno here ( the trucker), I jumped with you at Rantoul and would like to say once again,
" Thank you for the load organizing".
I loved your attitude and personalityB|!

Just 2.5 weeks later on 08/24/02 I was visiting Skydance and busted the crap out of my leg (bad swoop = bad tib/fib), I'm still waiting to get back in the air and I'm sure there'll be some nerves when I return to the big blue playground.

I will not be bound to the earth, I will soar again!!!


ChileRelleno-Rodriguez Bro#414
Hellfish#511,MuffBro#3532,AnvilBro#9, D24868

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In 1987 I went into the top of a tree with both my main and reserve still inflating. Wasn't at terminal but wasn't completely slowed down. I shattered the ankle end of my tibia and broke a chunk out of the fibula. This was Feb. I ordered a Raven IV shortly out of the hospital. (Remember it was 1987;)). I was non load bearing for 3 months, and various walking braces for another 5. In October I made my first jump back. My ankle didn't let me take a running step at that time. So, if I had any forward speed left I'd slide on my butt. If timed right with the right canopy this works pretty well. Just like sliding into second. (But its a bear learned to flair for your feet again.:)
Was I nervous, sure. But as stated earlier, make it simple, pick your day, pick your gear, and pick your load. After a long recovery it may be a hop and pop is appropriate. These days obviously a lower performance ZP is the canopy of choice. I had traded the Raven for a Manta, then added a Sabre 190 when I could run again. When I wanted a guarenteed soft landing I grabbed the Sabre.

BTW if you wait for your doctor to say it's okay, you'll never jump again.>:( That was 1800 jumps ago. My leg still hurts everyday but skydiving is one of the things I can still do.

Have fun, and don't forget to grin.B|

I'm old for my age.
Terry Urban
D-8631
FAA DPRE

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Glad to hear you're doing batter and are looking into "getting back at it."

I'm still a student and was injured almost a year ago due to a canopy collision, or better yet my canopy being struck by a tandem. I had a few broken ribs, some torn muscles and ligament in my pelvic/hip area (Doc described it as the muscles that connect in my hip/pelvis area being torn off the bone), and really bad swelling/bruising. All in all, I consider myself lucky; it could've been much worse. I definitely learned some valuable lessons and I hope the TI that turned into me did too.

In terms of getting back in the air, I was reading my SIM and watching Youtube vids while in my hospital bed. I've been wanting to get back in the air ever since the accident. I remember the skydive as being one of my better jumps. The ride to altitude was amazing, the exit was stable, the freefall was smooth, deployment was on point, and I felt great under canopy. I try not to focus too much of my time thinking about the last few seconds, but it's really hard to do.

I keep finding excuses to not take the drive to the DZ. I think it's a combination of fear/anxiety and embarrassment. I thought about going to a different DZ to finish my AFF but talked myself out of that since I'd be jumping at this DZ at one point or another (plus flights are expensive from HI to the US mainland). I think it's just one of those things that only time will tell. I'm certainly not giving up on jumping.

I know I didn't really answer your question but I think overall my accident made me appreciate the fact that things can change very quickly in this sport. I think complacency can be one of the biggest contributing factors to many of the accidents we hear/read about. Not just complacency of the injured jumper but that of others around him/her.

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Because he knows that good etiquette is to search for an existing thread

Wendy P.
There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

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I crashed paragliding six years ago and compression fractured my L1. Its been 9 years since my last jump. I was sure I would never fly again, I was done with it. But I can't stop thinking about it. So I am pretty sure this fall I will be back at the DZ. I spoke with my DR, he warned me my actual spine may not be as strong as it was pre-crash. But I am fit able to jump.

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Yesterday, I made a jump from 5000'. It was the first time in two months after my dislocated shoulder early July. My delay was 8 seconds. I had no problem with the short freefall nor with reaching my toggles and collapse my slider after opening.
At landing I realized that my right shoulder/arm was still a bit weak and I needed to get more strength for a full deep toggle flare. Fortunatelly, it was windy enough to allow me a flare with toggles at chest level and do a stand up.
I am then going to the gym and see my physiotherapist for a couple of weeks and try again. Therefore, never give up and work your body for a fast recovery.B|

Learn from others mistakes, you will never live long enough to make them all.

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I am two months non weight bearing now after my bimallear ankle fracture from a seemingly ok tandem landing. Caught it just right.

At first I thought recovery was going to fly by, but it is taking its time. I will probably be back jumping and taking tandem next season, but right now I just would like to walk!
"The restraining order says you're only allowed to touch me in freefall"
=P

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Fractured a couple of metatarsals a few months back on a dodgy landing (flared too late). Had to take 6 weeks out to recover.

Before the accident my landings were pretty good and was standing a few up. when I came back I kept flaring way too early and PLFing all of them.

It's taken me 6 jumps or so but finally over it and last weekend both of my landings were perfect and stood both of them up.

So yea, these things can really effect you even if the injury is very minor in the grand scheme of things.
The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.

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