Something Positive from the Dublin Tragedy

[waltappel 1]

I am hopeful that we, as a community, will learn from the deaths at Dublin. There are a lot of good discussions going on and we are going to make changes that will save lives.

For those of you who weren't there, I'll briefly describe what I saw and what I learned from it.

I didn't see the actual collision, but I saw two entangled canopies dropping like a rock toward the ground from an altitude where there was simply no time for recovery. As the jumpers fell toward the ground, there were other jumpers running as fast as they could toward where they knew the entangled jumpers would impact.

There were people at their side seconds after the hit the ground. At least one was calling 9-1-1 from a cell phone and a dozen or so others split into teams to assess injuries and do what they could.

Those teams did the best they could to re-position the jumpers, without injuring them further, so they could check for breathing and pulse and, if needed, begin CPR. Rigs, clothes and jumpsuits were cut off.

Each fallen jumper had a team of people desperately trying to save his life.

I have burned in my mind an image of one of the rescuers looking up between the mouth-to-mouth breaths he had been giving. He had his jumper's blood on his face. It didn't matter to him. What mattered was trying to save a life.

Those guys never gave up--not before the ambulances arrived and not after. They did absolutely everything they could for both jumpers. No effort was spared.

What did I learn? I have to believe that there are a lot of people like those rescuers in the jumping community and it makes me extremely proud to be part of it.

And please, let's be careful out there.

Walt

[peregrinerose 0]

Beautifully said Walt, and I wholeheartedly echo your thoughts on the calibre of those who rendered medical care to the jumpers. If I ever have a medical problem at the DZ, I hope that I am lucky enough to have people like that there for me.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda