efs4ever 3 #1 March 7, 2005 March 6, 2005, Sunday Meredith Webb took a ride in a Twin Otter yesterday. She had recently declared to me that she wanted to make a jump. She told her mother this also. Meri seems to appreciate the fact that she is now 21 years old. She has seen her sister Shannon make several tandem jumps, as well as a multitude of Shannon’s friends, including her husband, Sterling, and his father. She knows that her own mother made several parachute jumps in the early days. She was there when brother James made his tandem jump in 1991. She’s seen the pictures of mom standing there in conventional gear waiting to board the Cessna for one of her eleven static line skydives. Today I put a tandem passenger harness on her and attached it to my own harness. We practiced the exit position several times. Recalcitrant to the end of training, she continuously challenged my authority to direct her moves. Nevertheless, she did finally comply with my instructions to put her head back, HUG herself, pick up her feet and ARCH. It’s a beginning. Meredith Leann Webb, my second child, was born in 1984 at home. The first thing I did after receiving her slippery body was to check her hand for a “Simeon Crease,” I was too caught up in the moment of the child birth experience that unfolded in front of me to be concerned about the possibility that she was not normal. I vividly recall seeing the flat crease across the palm of her hand and pushing it to the back of my mind. (A flat crease running directly across the palm is a clear sign of Down Syndrome.) After a day of denial, however, her mother, an RN in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Methodist Hospital in Dallas, Texas, realized our worst fears. Meridity was a Down child. (That nick name came from the Duncanville, Texas newspaper mis-spelling her name in the birth announcement.) Meri has been a dropzone brat practically since birth. She has entertained and annoyed jumpers at many dropzones over the past couple of decades. She likes to watch her videos, and we must continuously seek out turf for her TV sets at every place we visit. Skydive Houston, her home DZ, is very understanding, though. Taking someone like Meri on a tandem jump is not going to be your typical “teach em how we do it on the way to the plane.” It will take time and practice. Getting her used to the plane was the first step. Having her listen to instruction and demonstrate proper body position is going to be a lengthy process. In the end it will be a great experience. To be continued.Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnMitchell 16 #2 March 7, 2005 Keep us posted. That's so cool that you're sharing this with your daughter, when so many with her affliction are shown nothing but roadblocks in their lives. She's lucky to have you for a Dad. My hat is off to you. I am not going to cry, I am not going to cry . . . Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rickjump1 0 #3 March 7, 2005 You are one hell of a good father.Do your part for global warming: ban beans and hold all popcorn farts. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
aggie04 0 #4 March 7, 2005 You will have to let me know when she finally gets to jump!! I would love to be there to see it! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A life without a cause is a life without an effect Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nate_1979 9 #5 March 7, 2005 That's awsome... That's one lucky girl to have a father like you! FGF #??? I miss the sky... There are 10 types of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skylord 1 #6 March 7, 2005 Wow, more parents like you make for a much better world. Thanks for sharing this story with all of us!! Bob MarksBob Marks "-when you leave the airplane its all wrong til it goes right, its a whole different mindset, this is why you have system redundancy." Mattaman Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
superman0710 0 #7 March 7, 2005 QuoteThat's awsome... That's one lucky girl to have a father like you! blue skies, mate. i pray your jump is awesome. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skykittykat 0 #8 March 7, 2005 QuoteKeep us posted. That's so cool that you're sharing this with your daughter, when so many with her affliction are shown nothing but roadblocks in their lives. She's lucky to have you for a Dad. My hat is off to you. Ditto. I bet she is totally excited about it and I hope she has the time of her life. Have a fab jump. Liz Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tombuch 0 #9 March 7, 2005 Please let me offer a word of caution based on experience. Several years ago I was asked to take the brother of a drop zone staff person on a tandem, The DZ staff person was a packer with tons of jumps, and his brother, the student, was an adult with Downs Syndrome. The student had spent lots of time on the DZ, knew our sport well, liked and trusted me,, and could do everything that might be expected on a tandem, and he desperately wanted to make the jump. He seemed like a great candidate for a tandem jump, and with smiles all around we boarded the airplane. The student was happy and excited as the airplane climbed. He became very quiet as we neared jump altitude, and became quite nervous as the first people got out of the Otter. As we neared the door he suddenly became horribly agitated. He slammed one very powerful arm against the ceiling, and reached his other arm around his head and grabbed my head in a terrifying vice-grip. He started screaming “I don’t want to die, no no!” He was very strong and easily overpowered me, nearly breaking my neck in the process. As the event unfolded the door was closed and several of the others worked to calm him down. We moved back to the front of the plane, disconnected, and began the descent. Initially he was very relieved to be riding down. As we got lower he became very depressed and started crying softly, saying that he was just a baby and everybody was going to hate him. We talked some more, hashed out the issues, and helped him to realize that he had just gone all the way to 14,000 feet, something that very few people, and none of his friends had every done. We landed uneventfully, and he promptly started telling the story of his fun airplane ride. That jump, although it never actually happened, was probably the most frightening of my 1,000 tandems. If he had freaked out in the air I could have easily been incapacitated without any help nearby. As I analyzed the event it became clear that a student with Downs Syndrome experiences every emotion that a “normal” tandem passenger does, but has very limited means of dealing with or controlling those emotions. It was a very dangerous, but educational experience. If you do make the jump, please be careful.Tom Buchanan Instructor Emeritus Comm Pilot MSEL,G Author: JUMP! Skydiving Made Fun and Easy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
efs4ever 3 #10 March 7, 2005 Tom: Thanks for sharing that. If this jump happens it will be with much preparation. Her first aircraft ride was in the right seat. I also paid for an experienced jumper to ride in the cabin just to be sure nothing unusual happened; Our preparation will be long, possibly taking weeks and several airplane rides. Meri is small in stature, but you can never tell how strong a small person will become when the adrenaline flows. I would like to hear from anyone who has taken a Down Syndrome person on a jump.Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #11 March 7, 2005 QuoteIf this jump happens it will be with much preparation. Consult a lawyer first. Get someone to video the dive, so that she can get the kick out of seeing someone else in freefall. And if you want to make it a formation dive, I'm available. P.S. (efs4ever is a lawyer...) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
efs4ever 3 #12 March 7, 2005 And if you want to make it a formation dive, I'm available. Actually, seeing others in the air will probably take her mind off of things. Of course there will be video!!! Russell M. Webb D 7014 Attorney at Law 713 385 5676 https://www.tdcparole.com Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
StevePhelps 0 #13 March 8, 2005 QuoteOf course there will be video!!! I'm envious of the videographer! Keep it up! Meri has a GREAT DAD! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JohnRich 4 #14 March 8, 2005 QuoteOf course there will be video!!! Yeah, I shoulda known - you can't even put down a new wood floor without getting time-lapse action of the event. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
usedtajump 1 #15 March 9, 2005 Russell, that is soooooo wonderful of you to do that. My brother's daughter is DS and I never could convince her to go riding with me on my motorcycle much less skydive tandem with me.The older I get the less I care who I piss off. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
