Please be careful

[freefalle 0]

Im a little drunk right now, and if the greenies think its necessary please fell free to delete this post, just dont ban me.

But I have a request,,, Please use your head when skydiving.

I am an EMT and a nursing student. I work in a trauma center in FL. near deland. Last night, a young man who was involved in an incident was one of my patients.

I am not going to discuss his condition. As I sat this morning consuming alcohol to dilute the images of his broken body running through my mind. I have to ask one thing, No matter who you are, no matter wheather we are friends or not, PLEASE be careful and use your damn head. This is not the first or the second or even the third skydiver I have cared for as a patient.

For the sake of your family, your friends and even strangers you do not know, please be careful.

Jan, we, the nurses, surgeons, emt's, paramedics, flight crews, your family and friends are pulling for you, the rest is between you and your God. May the blessing of the lord be upon you.

[Randy_H 0]

Very well said.

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[peregrinerose 0]

Drunk or not, this is a post that all of us should really take to heart.

Do or do not, there is no try -Yoda

[gordy 0]

Absolutely. Everyone should read Brian Germain's article on the front page at the moment. A friend of mine described it as the most important article he has ever come across in skydiving, I agree with him.

[Michele 1]

Well said, and a comment to take to heart.

Thanks.

Ciels-
Michele

~Do Angels keep the dreams we seek
While our hearts lie bleeding?~

[wildcard451 0]

I don't remember who said it, but...

"There are old skydivers and there are bold skydivers, but rarely will you find both."

I think I have twisted it a little, but the meaning remains the same.

We have the rest of our lives to pursue this sport, whether that means you are still lucky enough to be tearing it up at 70+ (god willing), or if your pursuit ends tomorrow when you had to go big for the crowd at sunset.

I really wanna learn to swoop, become a sick freeflier, be able to kill it in a wingsuit, BASE jump, and take some aerial pictures that even resemble some of the work I saw on the walls of the Bent Prop this past week.

But I'm only 24. I want to be able to finish my residency. I'd like to be able to enjoy having a family and a career. I'd like to not walk with a limp for the rest of my time here.

I had only a minor taste of the planet about 2-3 months back. I got target fixated on the beer I wanted to kick in the peas at sunset, so I tried to stretch it out on rears on a straight in approach. Unfortunately, I let off them around 40 feet up, and knew I screwed up right away. I surged forward into the ground, tried to flare to no avail, and remembered seeing a few people in the crowd turn away. I hit like a fucking brick, and set back my recovery from knee surgery by about 2 months.
This wasn't a hook turn, just a minor lapse in judgement. It hurt enough to remind me that I am human just like everyone else, and that planet is gonna be there no matter if I get it right or screw the pooch.

I may not be the best 250 jump wonder around, and I'm probably not the worst, but I plan on being able to be a 5,000 or 10,000 jump wonder one day.

Hopefully I'll be able to see you there with me.

[diverdriver 7]

freefalle,

If you are drinking because of what you see in the ER then you need a new job. For YOUR own safety and future health I suggest this to you. You don't want your drinking to impare your ability in the ER. I would want you sharp as a tack if I came through there.

Just a friendly bit of advice to you.

Chris Schindler
www.diverdriver.com
ATP/D-19012
FB #4125

[jb092 0]

Drunk or not....well said.

What could possibly go wrong?

[jumperconway 0]

Chris,
If you look at the time of the post I would assume that was the all night shift. Blue skies Jan.

[teason 0]

A little harsh.

Sometimes, even medical folk have to deal with stuff that hits a little too close to home.

Sometimes the pathologist has to work on a child that looks like thier son or daughter, sometimes a new mother watches someones infant die and sometimes a skydiver sees the aftermath of a low turn.

Even hospitals sometimes have to bring in specialists to deal with post traumatic stress in thier emergency staff, it's not like watching ER.

Docters, nurses and EMTs are humans, not robots. They do cope with it better than average, they have to, but sometimes the wall can start to crack and they have to figure out another way to cope.

Saying that, drinking obviously won't help. I, however, believe that freefalle already has another coping mechanism already in place. Drinking may have just been a momentary fight against the flashes that come with PTSD when she got off shift and found herself alone.

I urge anyone who may have witnessed the event to also look into PTSD. I've seen poeple skydive while going through PTSD. It was one of the most scary and dangerous things I had ever witnessed.

As skydivers, we all believe that after a reserve ride you have to get back in the air.
A fatal accident is someting completely different. Please check out this link http://www.mentalhealth.com/dis1/p21-an06.html[url]and http://www.ncptsd.org/facts/general/fs_what_is_ptsd.html[/url]
Jumping with PTSD is not safe.

To all affected, please take care.
Tim

I would rather be a superb meteor, every atom of me in magnificent glow, than a sleepy and permanent planet.

[eeneR 3]

Heh...I would have expected a bit better out of you on this one.....

So your saying you have never gone and had a few beers after a shitty day of flying????

Look in the mirror before casting stones....



There are times in our lives that shit happens and if we dont sit back and deal with it right then and there, it will come back and bite us in the ass....hard lesson I learned.

Freefalle....
There are times in our lives that shit happens and if we dont sit back and deal with it right then and there, it will come back and bite us in the ass....hard lesson I learned.
This is the unfortunate side of life and of this sport, when shit happens it is not pretty.

Hang in there....and most excellent way of pointing out reality to those that may not know...

She is not a "Dumb Blonde" - She is a "Light-Haired Detour Off The Information Superhighway."
eeneR
TF#72, FB#4130, Incauto

[diverdriver 7]

Quote

A little harsh.

Tim and Renee... ease up. I offered my suggestion to help this poster. Not bash him. Geeez. Maybe a friendly reminder from someone who's been there before can help. Not saying he has to be straight sober all the time. I don't believe I said that anywhere. But when he said he's drinking BECAUSE of what he saw that concerns me and I'm suggesting a different path.

And yes Tim, suggesting counciling for PTSD is an excellent idea. Sorry I didn't post that one too after suggesting that drinking to cover the pain was less than desirable.

I hate doing this but I happen to know what I'm talking about here. I've lost over 20 friends in jump plane accidents and nearly that many to straight skydiving accidents. Not to mention other suicides. All in a less than 10 year skydiving career. So, I happen to be able to say "been there, done that" and I'm trying to reach out to this person who is hurting over this incident.

I've retired from jumping (sorry Kate, I'm still just a tourist ) and doubt I'll fly another load of jumpers in the forseeable future. That doesn't mean that I can't help someone out because I've seen it before. God knows I can't wipe what I've seen from my mind no matter how many beers I drank.

Chris Schindler
www.diverdriver.com
ATP/D-19012
FB #4125

[Peej 0]

That's a wicked post dude. After breaking my leg a few months ago my sentiments are much the same. Nice one to Freefalle too for the original post.
Be safe out there all of you.

Advertisio Rodriguez / Sky

[bodypilot90 0]

perhaps a PM would have been a better solution.

[diverdriver 7]

Quote

perhaps a PM would have been a better solution.

I don't think so. Maybe others are experiencing the same feelings due to things they have seen and are handling it in a similar fashion. My advice could be helpful to them too. What we see in the sport can effect our every day life and in this case he saw it in the sport AND at work.

PTS is very real. Quietly talked about behind the door isn't the best some times. Some times it is. In this case, I chose to respond publicly to this person's pain.

Chris Schindler
www.diverdriver.com
ATP/D-19012
FB #4125

[bodypilot90 0]

I still think you are wrong....

[diverdriver 7]

And I think you are wrong. So? Why didn't YOU PM me instead of posting here?

Oh this is so useless now. Too bad people can't see the point.