caico.katie

We use to have pretty good health insurance, about five years ago, then the company we were with decided to pull out of Missouri (where I live). Meanwhile, it was discovered that my daughter had a bone tumor and juvenile diabetes -- she was deemed uninsurable. Thanks to the Shriners the bone tumor was taken care of; she is still under their care and in need of at least one more surgery. As for the rest of her coverage, she is on Missouri state insurance, hopefully until she turns 20, but they just keep making cuts. If you do have good health insurance, consider yourself lucky. The statistics below don't address how good of coverage people have, just if they have coverage. Sure, my husband and I have coverage, but with a HUGE deductible -- that's pretty much what people who can't get group coverage get stuck with: high premiums and high deductibles -- America needs socialized medicine. (Please don't shoot me.) from: http://abcnews.go.com/Primetime/Health/story?id=1407369&page=1 Dec. 15, 2005 An estimated 46 million Americans don't have health insurance — but most of them do have jobs — everything from doggie day-care provider to freelance writer and editor. The uninsured often don't get necessary medical care and, as a result, are in poorer health and more likely to die prematurely than those with insurance. There are six million more uninsured Americans today than in 2000, and that is creating another crisis — a crisis in emergency medicine. Even people who can afford individual insurance can't always get it. In 45 states, insurance companies are allowed to deny people coverage. So those with certain medical conditions can find it impossible to buy health insurance. Again, how can I become a citizen of Norway?

How can I become a citizen of Norway?

I was just curious. I am not a jumper (or skydiver, I don't even know the proper term) but I have always thought it would be a fun thing to try. Shayna is my neice, and when she said she was going to jump I thought that was great. I am just too much of a coward to try it. So, I was just wondering how much risk there really is. When I said something to my sister-in-law about wanting to try it, she repleid, "Oh no Kathy, don't do it. I watched my best friend jump to his death." So you add Shayna to that, and I get a little more cowardly. So my question wasn't specifically about Shayna's accidents, but accidents overall. It seems like you would have to be pretty sharp and really on the ball to do this sport safely -- while I do consider myself to be pretty sharp I do panic quickly, so I would probably have reacted very poorly in Shayna's situation. I'm sorry to waste you guys and gals time. I know you are in here to learn about YOUR sport, and I shouldn't even be here. I just wanted to know more about it. I get way to involved in my kids lives, and the lives of my neices and nephews -- I'm just a real mother... Kathy aka Carico Katie

I'm just curious, how common are these kinds of things, I mean with brake lines/toggles? Also, do you know if more accidents happen to newer jumpers, than more experienced jumpers? (In general) and Whenever there has been an accident, do any of you worry more about your own jumps (in the days or weeks following the accident)? --------------------------------------

They are not going to be on Letterman. I think they are headed back to Missouri today. There is going to be some coverage of Shayna in the Kansas City Star with pictures of her before and after her accident. I was asked to send copies of her pictures to them anyway. I don't know when the story or pictures will be out. Shayna gets a lot of guff from several family members, so any support she can get from people here I am sure would be greatly appreciated. She has supporting family too, but I think we all have at least one family member who constantly criticizes . She comes from a big family, so we all take turns, (with criticisms and support). ----------------------------------------------------------

In reply to: So caico.katie when are you going out and doing your 1st tandem? I have actually wanted to try skydiving for a long time, but I am becoming more and more cowardly; I was totally behind Shayna for wanting to try this sport, and admire her for her courage -- as for me, I think I have decided to wait until my 80th birthday

When I read your reply I thought -- this guy sounds like my daughter! I had to smile when I read your reply.

Well guys and gals, I told my sister a little of what was being said here thinking maybe it would make a positive difference somehow, somewhere, someday... this is the letter I got back from her: Dear Kathy, There is such a thing as an accident, which by definition means "not intentional: a mishap". In our world of blamming and law suits Shayna has chosen to take responsibilty for her own actions. How refreshing! As long as there are gossips there will be gossip. It used to be old ladies in beauty shops with nothing better to do. Now it is faceless keyborders on the internet with nothing better to do. And all this is simply the opinions of people who must themselves be infalable, perfect individuals? Their babble does not change what happened and they will soon move on to analyse and discuss someone else's life circumstances. Our society is great at pointing a finger of blame and "Monday morning quaterbacking" after the fact. Shayna was asked to tell her story. That is what she has done. If there is anyone out there that has not done anything foolish in their lives then they have probably had a pretty dull existance. Most of the time we have little or no reprecussions and live to tell our children of the silly things we did. Many times it is young people drinking and driving that not only take themselves out but others as well. Shayna made the dive, she got hurt, she lived and we are thankful. She has granted all these interviews and turned down dozens for every one she has done. People are interested. So many just find the story facinating. She has recieved no monetary compensation and most of the general public is looking at the big picture. The one of her miraculous survival of what could have been a fatal accident. And like Mom always taught us, "sticks and stones (or in Shayna's case asphalt) may break our bones but words may never hurt me (us)". Please copy and paste this to any of those sites full of people with nothing better to do than look for anything ugly or negative to say about this accident, Shayna or Rick. What I see is that my only daughter is alive and therefore I must be thankful. I will continue to my blessings. Love, Rebecca (Shayna's mom) - Show quoted text - My addition to this: My mom was so wrong --WORDS CAN HURT. I just felt like that should be added. By posting this I am not agreeing with what my sister says, I am just posting it because she asked me to.

Well guys and gals, I told my sister a little of what was being said here thinking maybe it would make a positive difference somehow, somewhere, someday... this is the letter I got back from her: Dear Kathy, There is such a thing as an accident, which by definition means "not intentional: a mishap". In our world of blamming and law suits Shayna has chosen to take responsibilty for her own actions. How refreshing! As long as there are gossips there will be gossip. It used to be old ladies in beauty shops with nothing better to do. Now it is faceless keyborders on the internet with nothing better to do. And all this is simply the opinions of people who must themselves be infalable, perfect individuals? Their babble does not change what happened and they will soon move on to analyse and discuss someone else's life circumstances. Our society is great at pointing a finger of blame and "Monday morning quaterbacking" after the fact. Shayna was asked to tell her story. That is what she has done. If there is anyone out there that has not done anything foolish in their lives then they have probably had a pretty dull existance. Most of the time we have little or no reprecussions and live to tell our children of the silly things we did. Many times it is young people drinking and driving that not only take themselves out but others as well. Shayna made the dive, she got hurt, she lived and we are thankful. She has granted all these interviews and turned down dozens for every one she has done. People are interested. So many just find the story facinating. She has recieved no monetary compensation and most of the general public is looking at the big picture. The one of her miraculous survival of what could have been a fatal accident. And like Mom always taught us, "sticks and stones (or in Shayna's case asphalt) may break our bones but words may never hurt me (us)". Please copy and paste this to any of those sites full of people with nothing better to do than look for anything ugly or negative to say about this accident, Shayna or Rick. What I see is that my only daughter is alive and therefore I must be thankful. I will continue to my blessings. Love, Rebecca (Shayna's mom) - Show quoted text - My addition to this: My mom was so wrong --WORDS CAN HURT. I just felt like that should be added. By posting this I am not agreeing with what my sister says, I am just posting it because she asked me to.

In response to: This is really starting to smell a bit wierd. Huh?

Wow, that is amazing... I am not a skydiver, but I do use State Farm Insurance (much to my dismay) and they never want to cover anything. For instance, my husband is a professional musician, so they won't cover his musical instruments!!! (Do you have any idea how much I wanted to say: "I'm not a skydiver, but I play one on TV."?

I thought everyone would like to know that I heard last night (from Shayna's Grandma, my mom) that Shayna WILL NOT be going on the Oprah show. I don't know if that means she is discontinuing her publicity circuit or not, but I thought you would like to know that she did say "No" to Oprah. As for "the other side of the story" -- why don't some of you rally together and try to get some coverage on the improved safety of skydiving; Statistics do show that skydiving has become a safer sport over the last 15 years: 1/75,000 deaths in 1989 compared to 1/100,000 in 2004.

Several of you have told me that you can get insurance -- and I am very glad that I was mistaken about this one. I was just going on what my State Farm agent had told me, in regards to Shayna and her lack of insurance -- but then, that is State Farm, and they never want to cover anything. I only stay with them because my husband insist -- I have no clue why. Get this, at my dad's funeral our insurance agent shows up and starts trying to talk insurance with me -- I mean, trying to sell me insurance, but that is another issue all together. Please disregard my misinformed comment. As for Shayna not having insurance -- well, I think she just never imagined needing it, and at the place she was -- newly separated from her husband, I don't think she could have afforded insurance -- she probably shouldn't have been "affordinging" the skydiving, but maybe Rick was footing the bills for the jumps.

QuoteIn Reply To If she told the unvarnished truth from day one, it would've never left the Incidents forum. Her spreading of misinformation -- whether she meant to or not -- is the cause of all of this. She wasn't saying anything the first day; she was in intensive care. If anyone was dispersing false information it had to be Rick. Reply: I have been trying to remember when the first interview took place, and I think I remember it being a phone call to the hospital from, maybe, the Ash Grove paper. It was either Ash Grove or Springfield. I don't know if my sister (Shayna's mom) or Shayna's old high school teacher called in the accident. Anyway, the first interview was with Rick, not with Shayna. Shayna, being Rick's girlfriend of not very long would naturally go along with whatever he said happened -- I think that is typically a pretty natural thing to do (unlike after a couple has been married for many years!). Rick presented the event as though it happened because parachutes did not open properly; however, when he talked to me about it he did add that a more experienced jumper probably could have handled the situation better. The thing that bothers me the most about this accident is the stuff I am hearing about the chute having not been appropriate for use by Shayna -- it is very hard for me not to be a little mad a Rick for that, that is, if it is true that the chute was inappropriate for Shayna's use. With so many of you saying that it was I have to believe that it is true.

Hey everybody, I have kind of lost track of where I have been posting, so maybe you can pass this on for me: I hope I haven't offended anyone with anything I have written. I just want to see everybody get along, everybody, everywhere (yeah, okay, I'm a little, no a lot, unrealistic). So when I see people bickering I just try to make sense of the whole thing and bring peace to the situation. I am very sorry that Shayna, my neice, has presented your sport in an unfavorable light. And I am sorry for referring to anyone under twentyfive as a kid, but hey, I'm old -- to me you are a kid. To someone 75, I'm a kid. While I didn't like being referred to as a kid when I was 22, I do like it now -- you will understand when you get to be over 40. The way I see it is if I am old enough to have been a reasonable child bearing age when you were born, then you are a kid -- let me see, with that in mind I would have to say anyone 21 or yonger is a kid, so I take it back from all of you over 21 -- I could have been your mom, but in my opinion, a young mom. So anyway, enjoy your sport, be safe, don't become a statistic, and wash you hands after you use the bathroom (you know, you are suppose to scrub your hands for the length of time that it takes you to sing "Happy Birthday" or the ABC song -- again, I have to say, have pitty on my children, they would want you to ). To all of you 21 and under... don't forget to brush your teeth before you go to bed. G'night!