Casch 0 #1 January 3, 2009 Hey all, it's been a pretty long time since I've posted here. I haven't jumped since summer of '04 when I made a poor judgment call on a new canopy and crossed the runway on landing taking a good-sized portion of skin off my leg in the process. After that I decided not to jump again until I could afford to jump at least a few times every month. A year after my last jump I was in a head-on collision with a dump truck on the back roads. I crushed the right-half of my face on the steering wheel which left me with one eye (but no other handicaps thankfully). During the three years following my accident, I gained a significant amount of weight (went from 220 to 350). In October of this year I decided to take control of my life and I have lost 55 lbs on Nutrisystem. My goal is to drop another 100 lbs this year, but be no heavier than 250 by the summer (this was my weight when I first started jumping). I'd really like to start jumping again in July, and I'm curious whether I will be approaching it as a first time jumper, or if I can ease back into it with a few coached dives? Also, are there any other one-eyed divers here? What are some of the issues you run into? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #2 January 3, 2009 Your comeback strategy will depend partly on whether you got a license or not, though with four years out and only 55 jumps to your name before you left, sitting through a FJC (or a modified version thereof) to refresh your memory on everything probably wouldn't hurt even if you did get a license. Best bet would be to call your local DZ and have a chat about its recurrency approach. As for the effects of having only one eye, you might do a search in the Skydivers With Disabilities forum to see if it's been covered, and if not, start a new post in there. I know there's at least a few folks who post here that jump with only one eye. Here's one post to start: http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=967617"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
girthrockwel 0 #3 January 3, 2009 I don't know about the portion of your post regarding what you'll need to do to get back into things but my father lost an eye in 1980. He had some trouble with depth perception early on. Eventually his brain figured out how to judge distance with only one eye. In certian lighting he still has trouble, very rarely and minor. Do you ever have similar issues? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMitchell 16 #4 January 3, 2009 Lose weight, get in shape. You can be really out of shape and still skydive, but it puts you at a very high risk for injury when you're just starting, just learning everything. I'm sorry to hear about all you've been through. You've had some serious injuries. Let's try to stack the deck in your favor this time by getting as physically prepared as you can. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nomal2day 0 #5 January 3, 2009 Congratulations on your decision to return, Josh! I stopped jumping for 28 years, and restarted a couple of months ago. Quite a bit of it was like riding a bicycle, and the biggest change was in the gear (made my remembrances seem like they came off the Ark!) Your DZ and Instructors will have the answers for you on retraining, and will likely tailor it to your specific needs and progress as an individual. Good luck, have fun and blue skies 'To fly is heaven, to freefall is divine' 'You only need 2 tools. WD40 for when it doesn't move but should, and duct tape for when it moves but shouldn't' Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AggieDave 6 #6 January 4, 2009 Welcome back! I'm sorry to hear about your misfortune, but I'm glad to see that you're taking control and getting your life back together. Are you still in the area of your previous DZ or have you moved? It shouldn't be that big of a deal to get back in the air after you have achieved your weight goals! You'll go through a FJC, do some jumps with an instructor and then the learning starts again. It'll start coming back to you and before you know it you'll be better then you ever were before.--"When I die, may I be surrounded by scattered chrome and burning gasoline." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
