clontaago
First Grader
Skydiver survives 900m fall
From: By Tim Reid
December 15, 2005
A US skydiver whose parachute failed to open has spoken of the double dose of good fortune that followed her terrifying plunge to earth.
Not only did she survive the 80km/h face-first impact - but she then discovered she was pregnant.
Shayna Richardson, 21, was making her first solo skydiving jump when she began to have trouble with her parachute.
Hurtling towards a parking lot in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, Ms Richardson hit the asphalt with her face. Although severely injured, she managed to survive - and soon discovered her jump had not quite been a solo skydive.
Doctors treating her in hospital discovered she was two weeks' pregnant. Four operations and two months after the accident on October 9, Ms Richardson and her unborn baby are doing well.
"Just this last week we went and saw the doctor and we've got arms, we've got legs, we've got a full face. The baby is moving around just fine. The heart rate looks good. So not only did God save me, but he spared this baby," she said.
In fact, the baby appears to be in much better shape than its mother. Ms Richardson broke her pelvis in two places, broke her leg, and has 15 steel plates in her face. She also lost six teeth.
Talking about her horrific fall, which was videotaped by a camera in her instructor's helmet and which she has watched many times without qualms, Ms Richardson said: "I heard a snap and I started spinning and I didn't know why. I didn't know what to do."
She cut away her primary chute so her reserve could deploy. "It's called your guaranteed open. That's what everyone refers to it as," she said.
But the reserve parachute failed to open all the way and she began to spiral out of control.
"Of course, as high up as I was, I was still about 3000 feet (915m) off the ground, I was going to give it a try. I was just doing everything I knew to do to correct the malfunction.
"At the end I said: 'I'm going to die. I'm going to hit the ground. I'm going to die'. I just let go and I told God, I said: 'All right, I know I'm going home now. Just please don't make it hurt'.
"I don't remember it. I don't remember hitting the ground. I don't remember the impact or anything that came with it.
"When I hit the ground, my instructor ran over to me and he said I sat up, was talking to him, that I tried to get up and get around. Of course, he made me stay down.
"But I don't remember any of that conversation," she said.
"I just kept asking repeatedly if I was dreaming and if I was still alive."
She said she would never have jumped if she knew she was pregnant. "To hit the ground belly first - that's dangerous. At any stage of pregnancy that's dangerous. It's not something you want to do, let alone at 50mph (80km/h)."
Ms Richardson said she wanted to watch the film of her rapid descent into the carpark. "And the whole reason I'm comfortable with watching it is because I know how it ends."
She is due to give birth on June 25, and feels so blessed she plans to make her next parachute jump in August.
From: By Tim Reid
December 15, 2005
A US skydiver whose parachute failed to open has spoken of the double dose of good fortune that followed her terrifying plunge to earth.
Not only did she survive the 80km/h face-first impact - but she then discovered she was pregnant.
Shayna Richardson, 21, was making her first solo skydiving jump when she began to have trouble with her parachute.
Hurtling towards a parking lot in Siloam Springs, Arkansas, Ms Richardson hit the asphalt with her face. Although severely injured, she managed to survive - and soon discovered her jump had not quite been a solo skydive.
Doctors treating her in hospital discovered she was two weeks' pregnant. Four operations and two months after the accident on October 9, Ms Richardson and her unborn baby are doing well.
"Just this last week we went and saw the doctor and we've got arms, we've got legs, we've got a full face. The baby is moving around just fine. The heart rate looks good. So not only did God save me, but he spared this baby," she said.
In fact, the baby appears to be in much better shape than its mother. Ms Richardson broke her pelvis in two places, broke her leg, and has 15 steel plates in her face. She also lost six teeth.
Talking about her horrific fall, which was videotaped by a camera in her instructor's helmet and which she has watched many times without qualms, Ms Richardson said: "I heard a snap and I started spinning and I didn't know why. I didn't know what to do."
She cut away her primary chute so her reserve could deploy. "It's called your guaranteed open. That's what everyone refers to it as," she said.
But the reserve parachute failed to open all the way and she began to spiral out of control.
"Of course, as high up as I was, I was still about 3000 feet (915m) off the ground, I was going to give it a try. I was just doing everything I knew to do to correct the malfunction.
"At the end I said: 'I'm going to die. I'm going to hit the ground. I'm going to die'. I just let go and I told God, I said: 'All right, I know I'm going home now. Just please don't make it hurt'.
"I don't remember it. I don't remember hitting the ground. I don't remember the impact or anything that came with it.
"When I hit the ground, my instructor ran over to me and he said I sat up, was talking to him, that I tried to get up and get around. Of course, he made me stay down.
"But I don't remember any of that conversation," she said.
"I just kept asking repeatedly if I was dreaming and if I was still alive."
She said she would never have jumped if she knew she was pregnant. "To hit the ground belly first - that's dangerous. At any stage of pregnancy that's dangerous. It's not something you want to do, let alone at 50mph (80km/h)."
Ms Richardson said she wanted to watch the film of her rapid descent into the carpark. "And the whole reason I'm comfortable with watching it is because I know how it ends."
She is due to give birth on June 25, and feels so blessed she plans to make her next parachute jump in August.
