Adaptive Skydiving......

Many people are familiar with skydiving. However, not a lot of people are brave enough to jump from a helicopter/airplane while flying 3,000-13,000 ft in the air. Thousands of people a year do take the extreme jump, including quadriplegics and paraplegics. It is becoming increasingly more common to see someone who has a disability participate in skydiving.

In order to participate in the jump there are only a few adaptations that need to be addressed. After the proper safety classes are given the guide and passenger then put on the proper safety gear. An additional step to ensure safety for a quadriplegic or a paraplegic is to duct tape their knees and ankles to the guides. This will prevent their legs from flying up and hitting the guide while on the descent. Once all geared up and ready to go it is time to board the helicopter/airplane. This step also requires some additional planning. In most cases the passenger will be unable to climb into the airplane/helicopter by themselves. No worries there though.....With a few people to help lift the passenger up and into the plane they are ready to start their journey. Once at the altitude they are going to jump the guide and passenger make their way to the edge of the plane and take the leap!

It is so great to see that adaptations are being made to allow people who have disabilities to skydive. It is such a rush and there is no other experience comparable to it. This is another activity I would highly suggest trying!