David Wang

Sorry about this post.....I just talked to my surgen for the first time who actually did my surgery and found out that I actually did not have a fusion........ these screws and rods are only to stablize my spine while bone heals on its own. I will take the hardware out in May next year. Guess this is great news!

what facebook page is that? Could you tell me? Thanks!

Thanks. I had an L5-S1 fusion I think

Thank you for your kind words!! I have learned a lot this time.

Thank you. Yes my coach is an AFFI. I made a mistake, I shouldn't have waited. I should have just pulled the reserve at 4,500. I am responsible for saving myself. And about cutting away the main..the only problem is that I didn't know my main was deployed. And noted, if I was going to cut away, disconnect the RSL first.

Hi, thank you! So after the exit my right arm was very painful and I knew something was wrong. I was in front of my coach(it was a 2-way linked star exit) and pointed to my shoulder. My coach realized that I was having issues with my right arm and we stopped doing the dive flow. I was trying to do practice pulls later but failed. I made a mistake here, I waited and thought my coach would pull the main for me. I should have pulled the reserve at the right altitude. The designated pull altitude is 4,500 and when I realized I was below that and was still freefalling, I pulled the reserve.

That is a good advice! Thank you. Pull higher to stop the madness. A friend told me the same thing. I will remember the next time. Hopefully shoulders can be fixed haha...I really want to jump again under the blue skies.

Thank you so much. "a big ball of shit is better than a small ball of shit" this is a good way to think things! I also remember that below 1,000 ft if there is something wrong I need to get as much fabric over my head as possible. Although it looks like a down plane, but the main was more above my head, so I shouldn't have cut away. And yes I was jumping big student rig, Nav 240.

Thank you for all the encouragement. And you guys have convinced me and I will post the details here for the purpose of learning and helping others. I feel bad to ignore multiple inquiries. But I can expect that I will get different opinions and advice here. What happened: I hurt my arm during my previous landing. It was sore but was functional and I decided to jump again. Right shoulder dislocated on exit and I couldn’t control my right arm right after the exit if I remember correctly. Pulled the reserve at 3,300 ft. (And my coach pulled the main at the same time but I didn’t realize it) I was under the beautiful white reserve and my main was trailing behind, still in the bag. Later, the reserve suddenly dived down at maybe just a couple hundred feet. I was confused for a second, looked back, saw the fully inflated main and realized i was having a 2-out. The reserve was nearly below me and the main was behind and above me. I thought it was a down plane, so I cut away immediately and hit the ground before the reserve flew level. What I have learned: 1. Make good decisions up high to avoid making bad decisions down low. (Pull the reserve at 4,500. ) 2. Altitude is my friend. 3. Do not jump when I am not fully confident with my body. What I still feel confused about: People (who I have asked) have various opinions on whether I should cut away (or not) my coach told me that not cutting away at that low is a better course of action and personally I tend to agree with this saying - because the main provided a drag force that slowed me down. If I cut away I would swing under the reserve.And one of my instructors thinks that it looks like a down plane but it actually acts like a stable “bi-plane”. Honestly I still don’t understand why it acts like a “bi-plane”. He says I was coming down at an angle not straight down,so I should have landed the 2-out. However, some people say I should cut away(and that is what I actually did) “it is a down plane by definition” and “any down plane is a cutaway”. It is definitely a tough 2-out situation.. it is not a standard down plane but it really looks like it. The reserve was nearly below me and the main was behind and above me and they were opposite each other. Welcome to discuss...I always have fun learning new things. I have been doing research on two canopies out these days.

Thanks for the advice lol fortunately I never smoke! I remember when I attended my brother's wedding my sister-in-law tried to let me smoke but I refused lol

I have got a lot of different opinions and advice from my friends and instructors...I'm confused....I believe I will get more different opinions and advice if I post here and I will be more confused lol. I was told that an uspa incident report has been filed by the dropzone, so I'm not gonna post it here. Thank you all!

Thank you!! These are all very good points. I'm sure I will have a pretty serious conversation about skydiving with my family very soon and I need to be prepared. And you are right there is no rush - the sky is always there!

Thank you.

What you are saying makes sense to me. Thank you.

Hi all, hope everything is going well. Right now I know that I am a true addict (according to my instructor) - had an accident on jump 24 and was rushed to the hospital and had a surgery but the only thing I have been thinking since the accident is when I can jump again, or if I am allowed to jump again according to USPA guidelines. (Pretty funny when I was moved in the ambulance in the field the only question I asked was 'where is my altimeter' I just bought a Viso ii that day and didn't want to lose it lol) I had a spinal fusion surgery on my hip / Sacral area (my whole spine was disconnected from the hip, and I was lucky enough not to be paralyzed) the Surgeon put 4 screws and 2 rods on it and a full recovery is expected. Right now I'm already walking without help. I'm also thinking about removing all hardware when bones heal. Do DZs allow jumping with spinal fusion? Another injury is right shoulder anterior dislocation. I have read some posts on this website and understand that this is a dangerous one. Is surgery recommended at this point? This was my first time dislocating my shoulder. I will do tons of rehab to seriously build some muscles. I will also talk to my doctor. I understand that Back and shoulder problems are dangerous for skydivers. However, I know that a lot of people have overcome injuries like shoulder and back problems and return to the sky successfully. One good thing is that age is on my side. I just turned 19 this year so my recovery is fast and I have a lot of time to heal and exercise. A lot of people have been telling me to quit but my logic is this: I can't just give up something I love so much because I get hurt from it. Somehow, life decided that it was not my time that day. I treat this accident as an obstacle on my way to A. IF IT IS POSSIBLE FOR ME TO JUMP, I have decided that I will do whatever it takes to return to the sky safely. Thank you for listening! Blue Skies.