Sucessful Airborne Amputee event
Joe Sansone
Description
Collection
Title:
Sucessful Airborne Amputee event
Creator:
Joe Sansone
Date:
11/12/2007
Text:
I'm happy to announce that the Airborne Amputee event held in Houston TX
this Saturday was an absolute success despite the death of a skydiver
from the facility we used and subsequent media coverage just the day
before. Media from 3 news channels were present as well as print media.
Over 10 Newspapers across Texas picked up the story and the event made
national news on the A.P. Newswire. This event greatly exceeded our
expectations and words cannot describe the sense of empowerment and
accomplishment that the Airborne Amputees felt after their jump. Many
were so elated that soon after the jump they paid a discounted rate for
a second jump.
**WARNING, I'M HOPPING ON MY SOAPBOX FOR JUST A PARAGRAPH** Sometimes
I feel as if many in our industry do not do enough to support advocacy
for our patients. In the past, I for one was guilty of simply putting
on the limbs and takin the money. I have since opened my eyes to the
opportunities available to O&P business owners and practitioners to step
out of our comfort zone and put the patients and their needs first.
While this may not always reap immediate increases in profit (actually
increases costs) in the long run it's the right thing to do. And in
business, doing the right thing always pays financial benefits. I
strongly recommend events such as this as a way to increase awareness
and educate the public on the abilities of amputees, empower and
motivate your patients, and develop irreplaceable bonds between your
practitioners, employees and their patients. **OFF THE SOAPBOX NOW***
The following is our cumulative advice based on both our experiences
this weekend and from responses to the earlier Listserve post:
First of all I want to remind all that these were tandem jumps. Some
practitioners warned of the potential for fractured femurs, blown out
knees, shattered prosthetic devices etc. However all of our landings
were extremely smooth. There are two ways to land safely, either a soft
stand up landing or a sliding landing. We made it a point to ensure
that the best and most experienced assistants jump with the amputees and
that may have contributed to our successes. Our recommendation is to
jump with the prosthetic devices on the patient. However it is of
tantamount importance that the skydiver be able to extend both legs
during landing. Information about a device we manufactured to aid the
amputee skydivers will be forthcoming in a following post.
Below is an excerpt about the event. More information can be obtained
at the website below.
From the Houston Chronicle 11/11/07
Amputee skydivers take plunge of lifetime By RICHARD STEWART
ROSHARON - Stepping out in the thin air 14,000 feet above Brazoria
County on Saturday afternoon and plunging 120 miles per hour toward
solid ground was far from the scariest challenge ever tackled by this
group.
The six skydivers - most making their first jump - were all amputees who
have survived horrible accidents, endured terrible surgeries or
successfully fought disease.
With their artificial limbs securely strapped on or left behind, they
clipped themselves to instructors for tandem jumps, sailing to earth
under brightly colored cloth canopies.
Whoo! I am ready to go again! shouted Richard Lockley, 36, of Wharton,
as he hugged his 11-year-old daughter, Kyla.
The event, sponsored by Houston's Amputee and Prosthetic Center and
several other companies, was designed to allow amputees to prove to the
world, and mainly themselves, that their lives are not over just because
they have artificial limbs. They don't have to settle for sedentary
lifestyles.
Center president Joe Sansone said he hopes to make the jump an annual
event. Nearly 30 amputees agreed to participate this year, but most
backed out after hearing that the body of a skydiver had been found
Friday afternoon about a mile from Skydive Spaceland center, the same
site as their event.
The victim, Scott Bell, an employee of the skydiving center, died
Wednesday, apparently after his parachute malfunctioned. Because he
jumped alone and lived in a trailer on the center's property, other
employees assumed he had simply walked home.
When that news went out, people started calling to back out, Sansone
said.
Sansone and a few others stuck with their plan to jump.
I'm afraid of heights, he said, but my employees kind of backed me
into this. I had to go.
Afterward, he said: It was fun, but I don't think I'll be ready to go
again until next year.
He, like most of the others, was making his first parachute jump.
I didn't do it when I had two good legs, so I just decided I'd try it
now, said Wendy Logbotham, 30. She had endured 30 surgeries after her
leg was crushed in an auto accident in 2001.
Before their jumps, each had to go through instructions and sign forms
acknowledging that skydiving can result in injury or death.
Before every surgery they tell you the same thing, said Charlene
Lindsey, 60, who broke her left ankle in 1997 when she tripped over a
telephone cord in her apartment. The injury led to a staph infection and
five years of pain before her leg was amputated.
William Silva, 28, of South Padre Beach, said he was celebrating the
anniversary of the Marine Corps' founding on Saturday. The former Marine
lost a leg when he was standing next to a motorcycle that was struck by
a car in 2003.
I don't let it get me down, said Silva, who had an old-fashioned
bottle opener attached to the side of his fake leg.
Jody Wallace, 27, who works with amputees at the center, helped come up
with the idea for the event. Having made one skydive before an auto
accident led to her 2002 amputation, she thought it would be a good way
to show that amputees can still be adventurous.
First out of the airplane was 89-year-old Fred Winter, who made a
similar tandem jump six weeks ago. Unlike the others, Winter took off
his artificial limb before making his jump. Once he got in the plane, he
took it off and handed it to his son-in-law, Lee Bales.
It went better than the first time, Winter said Saturday. I knew more
of what to expect this time and I made a better landing.
While most of the jumpers said they'd be willing to go again, Winter
said his skydiving career is over.
Of course, that's also what he said after his first jump.
<Email Address Redacted>
Joe Sansone
C.E.O.
TMC Orthopedic
Amputee and Prosthetic Center
(713) 669-1800
www.tmcortho.com
this Saturday was an absolute success despite the death of a skydiver
from the facility we used and subsequent media coverage just the day
before. Media from 3 news channels were present as well as print media.
Over 10 Newspapers across Texas picked up the story and the event made
national news on the A.P. Newswire. This event greatly exceeded our
expectations and words cannot describe the sense of empowerment and
accomplishment that the Airborne Amputees felt after their jump. Many
were so elated that soon after the jump they paid a discounted rate for
a second jump.
**WARNING, I'M HOPPING ON MY SOAPBOX FOR JUST A PARAGRAPH** Sometimes
I feel as if many in our industry do not do enough to support advocacy
for our patients. In the past, I for one was guilty of simply putting
on the limbs and takin the money. I have since opened my eyes to the
opportunities available to O&P business owners and practitioners to step
out of our comfort zone and put the patients and their needs first.
While this may not always reap immediate increases in profit (actually
increases costs) in the long run it's the right thing to do. And in
business, doing the right thing always pays financial benefits. I
strongly recommend events such as this as a way to increase awareness
and educate the public on the abilities of amputees, empower and
motivate your patients, and develop irreplaceable bonds between your
practitioners, employees and their patients. **OFF THE SOAPBOX NOW***
The following is our cumulative advice based on both our experiences
this weekend and from responses to the earlier Listserve post:
First of all I want to remind all that these were tandem jumps. Some
practitioners warned of the potential for fractured femurs, blown out
knees, shattered prosthetic devices etc. However all of our landings
were extremely smooth. There are two ways to land safely, either a soft
stand up landing or a sliding landing. We made it a point to ensure
that the best and most experienced assistants jump with the amputees and
that may have contributed to our successes. Our recommendation is to
jump with the prosthetic devices on the patient. However it is of
tantamount importance that the skydiver be able to extend both legs
during landing. Information about a device we manufactured to aid the
amputee skydivers will be forthcoming in a following post.
Below is an excerpt about the event. More information can be obtained
at the website below.
From the Houston Chronicle 11/11/07
Amputee skydivers take plunge of lifetime By RICHARD STEWART
ROSHARON - Stepping out in the thin air 14,000 feet above Brazoria
County on Saturday afternoon and plunging 120 miles per hour toward
solid ground was far from the scariest challenge ever tackled by this
group.
The six skydivers - most making their first jump - were all amputees who
have survived horrible accidents, endured terrible surgeries or
successfully fought disease.
With their artificial limbs securely strapped on or left behind, they
clipped themselves to instructors for tandem jumps, sailing to earth
under brightly colored cloth canopies.
Whoo! I am ready to go again! shouted Richard Lockley, 36, of Wharton,
as he hugged his 11-year-old daughter, Kyla.
The event, sponsored by Houston's Amputee and Prosthetic Center and
several other companies, was designed to allow amputees to prove to the
world, and mainly themselves, that their lives are not over just because
they have artificial limbs. They don't have to settle for sedentary
lifestyles.
Center president Joe Sansone said he hopes to make the jump an annual
event. Nearly 30 amputees agreed to participate this year, but most
backed out after hearing that the body of a skydiver had been found
Friday afternoon about a mile from Skydive Spaceland center, the same
site as their event.
The victim, Scott Bell, an employee of the skydiving center, died
Wednesday, apparently after his parachute malfunctioned. Because he
jumped alone and lived in a trailer on the center's property, other
employees assumed he had simply walked home.
When that news went out, people started calling to back out, Sansone
said.
Sansone and a few others stuck with their plan to jump.
I'm afraid of heights, he said, but my employees kind of backed me
into this. I had to go.
Afterward, he said: It was fun, but I don't think I'll be ready to go
again until next year.
He, like most of the others, was making his first parachute jump.
I didn't do it when I had two good legs, so I just decided I'd try it
now, said Wendy Logbotham, 30. She had endured 30 surgeries after her
leg was crushed in an auto accident in 2001.
Before their jumps, each had to go through instructions and sign forms
acknowledging that skydiving can result in injury or death.
Before every surgery they tell you the same thing, said Charlene
Lindsey, 60, who broke her left ankle in 1997 when she tripped over a
telephone cord in her apartment. The injury led to a staph infection and
five years of pain before her leg was amputated.
William Silva, 28, of South Padre Beach, said he was celebrating the
anniversary of the Marine Corps' founding on Saturday. The former Marine
lost a leg when he was standing next to a motorcycle that was struck by
a car in 2003.
I don't let it get me down, said Silva, who had an old-fashioned
bottle opener attached to the side of his fake leg.
Jody Wallace, 27, who works with amputees at the center, helped come up
with the idea for the event. Having made one skydive before an auto
accident led to her 2002 amputation, she thought it would be a good way
to show that amputees can still be adventurous.
First out of the airplane was 89-year-old Fred Winter, who made a
similar tandem jump six weeks ago. Unlike the others, Winter took off
his artificial limb before making his jump. Once he got in the plane, he
took it off and handed it to his son-in-law, Lee Bales.
It went better than the first time, Winter said Saturday. I knew more
of what to expect this time and I made a better landing.
While most of the jumpers said they'd be willing to go again, Winter
said his skydiving career is over.
Of course, that's also what he said after his first jump.
<Email Address Redacted>
Joe Sansone
C.E.O.
TMC Orthopedic
Amputee and Prosthetic Center
(713) 669-1800
www.tmcortho.com
Citation
Joe Sansone, “Sucessful Airborne Amputee event,” Digital Resource Foundation for Orthotics and Prosthetics, accessed November 2, 2024, https://library.drfop.org/items/show/228773.
