jean69004

Hey guys! Just wanted to say that I went back skydiving this week-end. Everything was perfect, and my shoulder made it ok (even if it hurts a little on some movements). I finished my AFF and also did my first jump "all by myself". Thanks for all the tips!

I never had any shoulder problems before...the dislocation happened when I tried to get back in belly position for the second time. I knew instantly that something was wrong. The first reflex was to put my arm close from my chest, but I just thought "hey man, you'll never be stable and this can be dangerous", so I just put it back in a correct position (just imagine how painful moving a dislocated shoulder can be). It took some time to my instructor to understand something was wrong, because except a little rotation, I seemed pretty ok... he got it when he saw my face and pulled for me... Although he is a very experienced skydiver (13.000+ jumps, finished 2nd at the world championship a few years ago), he never saw someone dislocating his shoulder in front of himduring a skydive. Nothing to say except I'm glad he saved me from a potential instable opening....and dealing with twists or even a cutaway with a dislocated shoulder is an experience I don't even want to think about. Last but not least, he pulled at the last moment and landed as fast as possible to informthe DZ manager. 1mn after my canopy opened, people were already talking to me on the radio and saying "Ok we know something went wrong with your shoulder, just listen to us and everything is gonna be ok". When I landed, my instructor had already took the car, called 911 and was here to take care of me....he also helped me to get a fast appointment with a doctor specialized in shoulder, so that i could have surgery faster...nothing to say except thank you.

Hi everyone! I wanted to know how I could get over a skydiving accident that happened to me in october... I was taking PAC courses (quite the same than AFF but in France) and it was only my fourth jump. Basically, I dislocated my shoulder while falling (video available here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=neDl901ETUU)... Luckily, I remained calm and landed ok even if I didn't flare and wanted to faint under canopy. I had surgery in february and doctors consider my shoulder is now ok. I really loved the experience and I'm planning to go back jumping in a week or two to finish the courses...the only problem is that I'm terrified and don't know how to deal with the stress just before the jump. In fact, I don't know how most people feel at the beginning, but even after 4 jumps I was still very scared in front of the door and I know have to deal with the fear of another dislocation... Any advice would be highly appreciated.. Thank you for reading and sorry for my poor english (I'm french)