Sorry to report Calvin19 has been injured Paragliding.

[RhondaLea 4]

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I second that.

I third it. But I would add that as much as his mind is creative, his heart is...good, big, open wide.

I'm going to write to him, but if someone sees him sooner, tell him I said "the last thing that you wrote to me, and I really mean it, dammit. We need you here."

He'll remember.

He'll stay.

rl

If you don't know where you're going, you should know where you came from. Gullah Proverb

[Bazair2air 0]

Wishing you the best, Matt!

CYA Wed.

Blue Skies!
Baz

[pBASEtobe 0]

Hey Matt,

You'll get out of the hospital and start reading all the posts you've missed soon enough!

Until then, heal well brother!!

Russel

[hookitt 1]

Matt, you're in my thoughts bro. Just get well...

My grammar sometimes resembles that of magnetic refrigerator poetry... Ghetto

[sum1sneaky 0]

Oh my gosh, this is terrible news! Matt is wanted here on earth!

Hang in there Matt, we're all inspired by your fresh outlook and waiting to go rope jumping with you someday! I am spending some time today praying for you working my connections on “the other side” – hopefully we can help!

Don't beat yourself up over the accident, we're all just happy you're alive and we will certainly learn from what ever happened.

C-ya soon after your speedy recovery,

sum1

Pope: Tell him I'm there too in spirit - and not to give up - there's too much still to live.

[spidrmnky 0]

ATTENTION!!!!!!

This is Nic Garcia... as some of you may know as one of his best friends and fellow rope jumper... here is his update!

First off... that report is retarted. That woman WAS NOT there when it happened and conditions were ideal. We're contributing the accident to either rigging error or gear malfunction to a line set becoming undone.

CONDITION... Hecker is stable and doing quite well, however not awake and alert yet. He suffered a major head injury despite him wearing a ski helmet, pads and Hanwag boots. His screaming was typical of a severe head injury and even though he was awake he was not alert and aware to his surroundings, being unable to communicate with anyone or follow requests. They had to sedate him, intubate him and put a pressure sensor in his skull to monitor his progress. No draining of the skull was neccissary and his ICP is stable and the neurologist expects a full recovery with no brain damage. They need him a little more responsive before they remove the tubes, but this is expected to happen in the next few days or so. His leg and ankle suffered serious trama and have recieved one surgery with one more to go, worst case he'll have to have his ankle fussed. Due to concern of "secondary impact trama" Hecker cannot risk another blow to the skull because it may be instantly fatal, regardless of available help... meaning he has to take it easy for a long time and will need our support. Any mail can be sent to
SINE INNOVATIONS
115 S. 34th Street
Boulder, CO. 80305

ANY ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS...
please feel free to call or e-mail myself or Alex Gilmer, leave a message and we'll get back to you as soon as possible... there are many concerned friends.

Nic Garcia 303-570-4720
nicholas.garcia@colorado.edu

Alex Gilmer 303-748-3276
agilmer1@mscd.edu

[saf40 0]

Heal well, the world needs more people like you!

Best wishes

Steffen

[Faber 0]

My best whishes.. please give Matt my get well..

Stay safe
Stefan Faber

[kirrz 0]

Hope you have a speedy recovery so you can get back to doing all the things you love.

[avenfoto 0]

matt:

pain pills, hot nurses and sponge baths...

you really are living the dream..
get well soon.

[Donk 0]

Nic,

Wow that sucks but thanks for the update and we wish Matt a speedy recovery. But that dude was living the dream though... and I sincerely hope he is able to get back on it. I still owe him the chance to rope huck me off something sick so hopefully he will heal fast enough to toss my fat ass without the BASE security blanket.

Best wishes to him and your crew and look forward to seeing you all somewhere sooner than later.

Donk

[spidrmnky 0]

UPDATE!

So Hecker is doing about the same. He had a temperature in the morning and some swelling of his arm, but they gave him some drugs for that and are working on getting some new x-rays to make sure he didn't fracture his arm. Good stuff... they took out the pressure gadge and they are hoping to take him off the ventilator tomorrow. Still not awake, but we're hoping for the best soon. Again, feel free to contact me or Alex and we'll do our best to keep all his friends informed and worry free.

[spidrmnky 0]

hey, also if you guys haven't checked out his latest movie you should get on that. Sorry to not post a link... but it's "The FRASCA Story" on skydivingmovies.com
Russel, you should like the footage of you and our "practice throw"

[lifewithoutanet 0]

Nick,
Thanks for the updates. Tell Matt we say "enough's enough."
Everyone else...here's the link: The FRASCA Story. Russle and I were just talking about the practice throws you put Matt through the other day.
-C.

[micro 0]

If someone could pass along good vibes and prayers for Matt for me, I'd be very appreciative. We had some communication a while back when I was looking into purchasing a turbine caribou as a righteous jumpship. He was very enthusiastic about offering his services as a dehaviland rated pilot.

I sincerely hope for his full recovery.

I miss Lee.
And JP.
And Chris. And...

[spidrmnky 0]

UPDATE!

I'll be sure to pass the above on... Hecker is doin' pretty good. He was gettin' a little aggitated and decided to pull his breathing tube out and he's strong enough now that they're fine with that. He's still very much out of it, but I was in the room when he said his first "words" when I was helping put his broken leg back on the bed. Thanks for the support.
-Nic

[tdog 0]

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Kay Tauscher, owner of Peak to Peak Paragliding in Boulder, was walking her dog at Wonderland Lake near the time of the accident and spotted the two lone paragliders.

"I thought 'That's weird, this is clearly not a day to fly,'" Tauscher said, noting the wind was blowing the wrong direction. "Anybody who's been through proper training knows today is not the day to fly."

Paragliders launching from Wonderland Lake need winds to be moving in an easterly direction to fly safely, Tauscher said, not from the west like it was blowing Monday morning. When the wind is at a paraglider's back, it creates a condition known as a "rotor," Tauscher said, and paragliders are not engineered to fly in that "kind of air."

Tauscher said there had been talk in the local paragliding circles about some younger, inexperienced paragliders launching in less than desirable conditions from Wonderland Lake, but there is no law that they must be licensed.

Ok. I hate to expose the dirty laundry in Colorado Paragliding... But I USED to paraglide - and I no longer do - because the Colorado gang of paragliders are not friendly, and very competitive for "customers" in their schools, constantly bad mouthing everyone else they know. The controversy was as heated as the Skyride topic - with instructor ratings being pulled, hearings in front of city leaders, flying sites being closed down, etc.

I could not deal with the negative energy...

For an example, I went to my first RMHGA meeting and introduced myself as a student of a specific instructor - and eager to learn, etc. After the meeting, the group of people lined up, like in the movie Airplane where 100 people line up to slap the passenger who "lost it", to tell me that I was going to die because I chose the wrong instructor. I agree, this instructor made some poor ethical decisions on the ground a few times, but he told the truth when asked, and knew his stuff in the air...

I contacted the President of the club and told the officer why I was upset and said my piece... She referred me to someone else, another officer, who gave me a multi-page letter of why I was wrong, he was right, and I needed to quit my lessons with this instructor before I died... My reply was short and sweet, "you don't get it."

Still to this day I respect the instructor I picked, because he taught me many valuable lessons I transferred over to other parts of my life, and I share with skydivers. I still look to some of the lessons I learned from him when I decide it is better to stay on the ground instead of fly... I still to this day believe I had a great teacher.

Why do I say this? Well, because I don't trust anyone in the Colorado Paragliding community to tell the truth, especially if they are talking about people who learned from other teachers or are not in their clique... It is sad I say that, but, it is true. Notice, the person they quoted was an instructor at a school in which this pilot was not involved? No surprise. Also, no surprise she did not say "no comment", like a skydiver or BASE jumper would after an incident they were not involved in... She instead spread dirty laundry to the world about her weather observations.

To give you an idea of their community, here is a quote from the RMHGA discussion forum about this incident:

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No Shawn - I believe every word the press states. I certainly wouldn't listen to a sarcastic windbag like yourself who never says anything good and when he hears someone got hurt immediately makes fun of the situation.

They never have had the "no personal attacks" rule...

And here is what Kay posted:

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FYI, there appeared to be an injured PG pilot at launch in N. Boulder this morning. I happened to see this as I was out walking my dog at the park. The westerlies were strong and it clearly wasn't a day someone should be flying. The wind sock at the LZ was west the entire time I was there. (I'm wondering if it was one of a couple of CU students that I've been told have been showing up and trying to teach themselves to fly...but I have no idea.) I couldn't go up to check on them...there were already rescue personnel headed to them. IF anyone finds out more info, perhaps you can let us know who it is and how badly they've been hurt so we can support them as best we can.
_________________
Kay Tauscher
Peak to Peak Paragliding LLC
Phone 303.817.0803

Anyway - Calvin19 - Matt - Get well soon, my vibes are with you... And if any Colorado Paragliders are reading who are the good guys, I am sorry I never met you, but I apologize if my paint brush was too wide and I marked you wrongly.

Travis

[micro 0]

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UPDATE!

I'll be sure to pass the above on... Hecker is doin' pretty good. He was gettin' a little aggitated and decided to pull his breathing tube out and he's strong enough now that they're fine with that. He's still very much out of it, but I was in the room when he said his first "words" when I was helping put his broken leg back on the bed. Thanks for the support.
-Nic

Thank you very much. Is he understanding things that you and others say to him? I guess I'm asking what sort of cognitive damage he may have suffered, if you know.

More vibes and prayers for a thorough, speedy recovery.

I miss Lee.
And JP.
And Chris. And...

[TomAiello 26]

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I guess I'm asking what sort of cognitive damage he may have suffered...

There is absolutely no way to tell at this point.

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[Trae 1]

Shine that healing light .
Them's incandescence not angels Calvin.

happy getting betterer

[spidrmnky 0]

UPDATE!

So, Hecker is doin' great!!! He is definately responding to peoples questions... kinda. He yanked his food tube, so there aren't any tubes in him... besides the evil one down below. But I was in there with his mom and when she said "Matt! Hey Matt!" he turned his head and said "Whaaat!"... a typical response to his mother meaning what the hell do you want from me?! The physical theripist did a sternum rub on him and got him to tell her his name. And he said a couple titles of the music we had him listening to. So awesome news as far as him progressing, but as stated above... there is some room for the unknown and further damage that's unseen. He can use prayers, support relayed through me, letters we'll read to him, anything. Keep the questions and info coming.
-Nic

[JeNnEjEnN 0]

YAY!!! Way to go Matt! Keep on gettin' better... we all want you around!
Jen

-------------------------------------------
"Scars remind you that the past is real..."

[nicrussell 0]

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The physical theripist did a sternum rub on him and got him to tell her his name.

get well soon matt!! with treatment like that...no time at all.

[micro 0]

Quote

UPDATE!

So, Hecker is doin' great!!! He is definately responding to peoples questions... kinda. He yanked his food tube, so there aren't any tubes in him... besides the evil one down below. But I was in there with his mom and when she said "Matt! Hey Matt!" he turned his head and said "Whaaat!"... a typical response to his mother meaning what the hell do you want from me?! The physical theripist did a sternum rub on him and got him to tell her his name. And he said a couple titles of the music we had him listening to. So awesome news as far as him progressing, but as stated above... there is some room for the unknown and further damage that's unseen. He can use prayers, support relayed through me, letters we'll read to him, anything. Keep the questions and info coming.
-Nic

Considering what he's been through, that is GREAT news!!! Thanks for keeping us abreast of his status.

My family and me continue to keep him in our prayers.

I miss Lee.
And JP.
And Chris. And...

[spidrmnky 0]

ATTENTION!!!

Hey guys, thanks again for all the support. Hecker is continuing to improve and was kinda able to say what time it was when his mom, Julie, asked as he was grabbing at her arm. Every once in a while he'll really focus on people and I was talking to him and asked if he was doing okay and he just said "Yeah" very distincly. There really isn't a whole lot else to say. They tried to get him some food by putting a tube back in him, but if you guys really know Hecker, you'll know he didn't go for that very long and yanked it out as soon as it was in. He's really out of it for the most part, but we're really hoping for the best. Thanks again.
-Nic