If a jump went bad and you ended up paralysed from the waist down, would you think it had been worth it?

[Newbie 0]

If you were in a wheelchair forever, would you look back on the jump you made and think "Well i might be in this chair and can never jump or walk or do alot of the stuff i used to do again, or most likely have sex and kids, but the jump was worth it".

"Skydiving is a door"
Happythoughts

[livendive 8]

Quote

If you were in a wheelchair forever, would you look back on the jump you made and think "Well i might be in this chair and can never jump or walk or do alot of the stuff i used to do again, or most likely have sex and kids, but the jump was worth it".

I know a guy who ended up paralyzed from the waist down after a jump. He still goes to boogies, and he still jumps at them (though not at the same pace). Not being able to have sex again would seem to make life a helluva lot less complicated! (kidding!)

I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure I'd feel it was worth it, at least after I got over the unavoidable pity party.

Blues,
Dave

"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!"
(drink Mountain Dew)

[beowulf 1]

I know one person that is paralyzed from chest down. I don't know what his answer would be. But I am sure he is not looking back on his last jump with much fondness.

[wildcard451 0]

That jump? Prolly not. The jumping? Probably.

[Hawkins121 0]

hell no.

[LawnDart21 0]

Does anyone else find this question ridiculous and serving no collective good?

--
My other ride is a RESERVE.

[Floats18 0]

The only one I can stand guilt-tripping me is my mom... and she's not giving up that throne.

if there's a doubt in your mind you need to quit.

I'll summarize my stance with this thought: "Skydiving is my favorite thing to do on the plantet, and the day I can't say that I'm giving it up."

edited 'cuz I can't spell

--- and give them wings so they may fly free forever

DiverDriver in Training

[Scoop 0]

erm, no. I find it thought provoking and putting the danger into perspective. First thing they said to us on ground school...

"Whats the worst that could happen?"
"Could die"
"Yeah, but I can think of one worse than that. Being paralysed for the rest of your life. You accept that?"
*gulp* "err, yeah."
"Good! Then lets begin!"

Still doesnt put me off though as things like that never happen to me Nothing like pushing your luck is there

[Andy9o8 0]

Quote

Does anyone else find this question ridiculous and serving no collective good?

Yeah. I do.

[CSpenceFLY 1]

I wouldn't say that about one jump but if something happened to me I don't think I would trade the last seven years to make it go away.


.

[Newbie 0]

Quote

Does anyone else find this question ridiculous and serving no collective good?

I'm sorry you feel that way, i honestly didn't mean this to be some stupid shoot my mouth off question, and i really am sorry if it upset anyone, particularly someone who might have been through what i posted.

It was not a self serving post, aimed at generating a response. It came out of something i think Ron or someone had posted in another thread about risk and if you asked any jumper who had been seriously injured if they thought that one jump had been worth it, they had said no. I am paraphrasing and if it wasn't Ron i apologise, but it got me thinking - so many of us, me included - forget sometimes about the risks, and because all of us are meant to be weighing these risks all the time, i thought about one of the worst things i could think of (because lets face it dieing sucks, but if i die, you won't ever really know how pissed off i am) and for me, that would be being paralysed from a jump.

So i put the question out, mainly because i thought it would make people stop for a moment and think - and perhaps weigh the risk.

All too often i come across people on the forum (and i have done it myself) where i catch myself slipping and think "7 jumps done today, i know what i'm doing, what could do wrong on number 8?). That's why when i asked myself this question, lo and behold it made me think. I wondered if it might work with anyone else, and the reply by Scoop above seems to have shown it did.

Again i'm sorry if you felt it was an insensitive post to put up, but my intention was not to garner attention and fuel my ego, it was more to put something out that over the last few days i had been wrestling with to see what others thought on the same issue.

"Skydiving is a door"
Happythoughts

[firstime 0]

Quote

Does anyone else find this question ridiculous and serving no collective good?

ditto

[Newbie 0]

Quote

I wouldn't say that about one jump but if something happened to me I don't think I would trade the last seven years to make it go away.


.

That's a good point. I had become focused on whether the one jump where an accident happened would have been worth the payoff. BUt you are right, you have to consider the entire length of the experiences you have had. Thanks for that.

"Skydiving is a door"
Happythoughts

[johnny1488 1]

Is it worth it, probably not.

Would most people do it anyway, probably.

We all take risks. Pretending they arent there is retarded. But what are you going to do, not jump. Thats fine, but I prefer to stay as safe as I can with the risks that I make. That includes absorbing as much information as I can and being the best skydiver I can.

You rolls the dice and you takes yer chances.

Johnny
--"This ain't no book club, we're all gonna die!"
Mike Rome

[Trae 1]

in reply to "Does anyone else find this question ridiculous and serving no collective good? "
............................

well it is a fairly confronting thought. Serving no good? ...depends how you take it and what you do with it. perhaps you might empathise with disabled people by thinking a bit about it...perhaps not.

Of itself the question brings up bad feelings and memories for me. Any-one who has seriously injured themselves in this sport or by some other accident knows that they would probably do anything to just make it all go away or to have never happened.

When one moments lack of attention or care can kill or maim you a sensible person would never lose attention.
The reality is some of us do.

It doesn't hurt and could help some to realise this consciously occassionally.... out loud.

[selbbub78 0]

You know I remember when I really hurt myself skydiving. Every day I was talking about it, and how wonderful it is, and how everyone on staff at the hospital should try it, even with me sitting there with a femur injury, and fixed aorta. There is no doubt in my mind, if I ended up paralyzed I would be so glad that I was able to do it. You're living life, and making the most of it. I can't imagine anyone thinking otherwise.

CReW Skies,

"Women fake orgasms - men fake whole relationships" – Sharon Stone
"The world is my dropzone" (wise crewdog quote)
"The light dims, until full darkness pierces into the world."-KDM

[funks 1]

Quote

I wouldn't say that about one jump but if something happened to me I don't think I would trade the last seven years to make it go away.


.

Gotta call bullshit, sorry. Are you telling me if you ended up getting paralyzed, 7 years of skydiving memories would make it worth it? And on top of that you would not give up those memories to no longer be paralyzed??? Am I reading that correctly?

Some people get way to fucking wrapped up in believing this sport is the holier than thou be all to end all.

Thats some fucked up shit when people start believing the sport is worth more than their own health.

Believe it or not people but there are more important things in life than skydiving

[D22369 0]

If a jump went bad and you ended up paralysed from the waist down, would you think it had been worth it?
***

no way, there is far more to life than skydiving


Roy

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

[skybytch 259]

I'd probably be more likely to think it was worth it if I was in a wheelchair due to skydiving than if I was in a wheelchair due to a car accident.

Quote

or most likely have sex and kids

There's way more to sex than just what happens with what's in our crotches. And you don't have to physically have a kid to have kids.

[Ron 7]

Quote

It was not a self serving post, aimed at generating a response. It came out of something i think Ron or someone had posted in another thread about risk and if you asked any jumper who had been seriously injured if they thought that one jump had been worth it, they had said no

It was me.

I think its a good question. I think any question that makes people think is a good question.

However, you will get many responses from people who will not think about the question and just knee jerk an answer. Pretty common and to be expected.

No one like to think about what could happen, even if it is a good thing to think about.

"No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms." -- Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334

[nate_1979 9]

My aunt always tells me that I better be having a great time, because I'm going to pay for it when I get older ... She usually refers to joint problems and the such, but the point she tries to make comes from when she says "but dont stop what your doing just because of that, do whatever makes you happy because eventually you wont be able to do all this stuff, and you'll regret not doing what you didnt do more than you will regret what you deal with because you did" ....

I like that. I think that will be my attitude regardless of what may happen ... Atleast I hope that's how I'd feel. . .

FGF #???
I miss the sky...
There are 10 types of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't.

[billvon 2,435]

Would that jump have been worth it? No.

If I had a choice to never, ever jump, or jump for 15 years, set three world records, teach a few thousand people how to skydive, and end up paralyzed? I'd think pretty hard about the tradeoff. Right afterwards it would seem like it wasn't worth it - but when I looked back at the end of my life, I would probably regret the first decision more.

[steve1 5]

Interesting question!...I think the only one who could answer that one would be someone who's been there. I'd bet they'd say no, though."


But, on the other hand when I was a lot younger and dumber I recall saying that I love skydiving so much that if I get killed tomorrow it would have been all worth it. I don't know if that statement shows my mental state at the time or if I truly was stupid.

When I look back at my life I realize there are lot's of great things in life beside skydiving. My wife and kids for example mean much more to me than any sport I've done. That's one thing I would have missed out on if I had burned in back in the 70's.

I know a cowboy who was once one of the best bull riders and bareback riders in the world. Now he's an old man in a wheel chair. He had a bull step on his back at a rodeo and he's paralyzed from the waist down. If you asked him if it had all been worth it I'll bet he'd say "hell no!"....Steve1

[bluskidave 0]

As many jumps as I have made, HELL YES!

[JohnMitchell 14]

No, that's why I work so hard not to end up injured like that. That's why I stay off motorcycles, too.
It can also happen driving cars or on the job. After it happens, you can't look back and say "What if . . .?"
You have to look forward and say "What can I do now?"

No sport is worth dying for or being crippled for. But some sports are worth the calculated risk. Big difference.