crazychickUK

I had a similar problem many years ago only one of my break lines was tangled and knotted due to a very near horse shoe malfunction (long story). I wasn't all that experienced and I just remembered my training "can I steer it? Can I land it?" I tried to use rear risers but didn't have the strength so, without hesitation I chopped. No-one said anything negative to me that day but someone did the following week, who hadn't even been on the dz that day. They said that they'd heard I'd chopped a perfectly good canopy. I just brushed it off as I was confident in my decisions but did wonder how this person felt qualified to question me as they'd previously rode a malfunctioning main down to 1000ft before chopping! It's your life on the line, no-one else's. If you think there's the slightest chance you can't land your main safely then cut away. It's irrelevant what others would do.

That's why I quit jumping last year - I could no longer accept that every time I exited the aircraft I could do everything right and still die. I have two young children now which I didn't have when I started (hubby was a skydiver when we met but gave up a long time ago) and for me the risks just aren't worth it. I wasn't getting enough out of the sport to justify the risks. It's a personal decision though and one that can only be made by the individual. Skydiving was my life for many years but not anymore. I've recently lost my mum which just reinforces the knowledge that I've made the right decision. I would never judge any mum who skydives, anymore than I'd expect to be judged myself. What's right for me isn't necessarily right for anyone else but I'm happy with my decision.

I had a similar problem only I didn't have the strength to steer or land on back risers. As I'd always been taught to ask "can I fly it? can I land it?" and the answer to both was no my decision to chop was a really simple one. I got a bit of stick from someone a few weeks later. She told me that I'd chopped a perfectly good canopy. It may well have been a perfectly good canopy but what good is it if I can't fly or land it. Oh - and the silly woman hadn't even been on the DZ at the time!

I'm bipolar and take venlefaxine and quetiapine. Have taken lithium in the past along with various anti-d's and anti-psychotics but the current regime seems to work quite well. Finding the right meds for you is pretty much a case of trial and error. CCUK