UpstateBonehead

Understood and, while I know my initial post was long winded (I write for a living), I did say that I was planning on doing so, but I'm certainly not relying on them to give me medical advice as to whether it is safe for me to jump (nor is that my question in this Post). Assuming my surgeon gives me medical clearance to continue jumping (i,e., reasonable assurance that jumping won't be Suicide at Altitude), I want to be sure that I'm educating myself on what can or could be done to minimize what I assume is a greater than normal personal risk of injury from a hard opening. Thats all. My instructors are well aware of my surgery and, more importantly, my surgeon is aware that I want to return to jumping. I'm not "hiding the ball" on anyone and will carefully consider their advice and counsel. But, at the end of the day, its a pure risk-reward analysis that I assume every skydiver makes (consciously or unconsciously) before jumping (I know I did even before my incident). For me, the analysis goes something like this: In total and on this specific day, do the consequence-weighted answers to the following questions mitigate for or against experiencing the joy that comes from letting go of the strut and arching into the Hill? "Is it too windy/cold/cloudy?" "Am I sore/tied/sick?" "Does it "feel right" to be jumping today?" "What happens if I hit the step on exit" "What happens if I can't find the DZ?" "If I have a malfunction do I trust my training?" "Do I trust the pilot to get to to altitude?" "Do I trust my instructor?" "Do I trust my equipment?" "Do I trust myself?" "Could jumping today possibly harm others in the air with me?" My List could go on and on and on and I'm pretty certain everyone's List is different. I'm also certain that everyone, whether they know it or not, engages in this process when making any personal decision; Skydivers aren't particularly unique in this. From this point forward, I'll simply always have another consequence-weighted question and answer to factor into the analysis. Hence my discussions with my instructors, my surgeon and this Post. I obviously know the additional question; I'm just trying to make sure I have a reasonably correct answer to factor into my personal analysis.

The lawyer in me apprciates the disclaimer. Thanks; once I'm out of the neck brace, I'll try it (with an acknowledgement of the assumption of the risk). "I shall not die of a cold. I shall die of having lived." Willa Cather

Very helpful stuff!!! Thanks a bunch! "I shall not die of a cold. I shall die of having lived." Willa Cather

Thanks for the replies and well wishes. As I understand my issue from my surgeon, it's not so much a compression problem as it is an extension problem. As the result of the bone spurs and a narrow channel in C5-6, over extending my neck (an action that would cause a normal person a temporary "stinger") resulted in a significant "pinch" of the cord and roots in that one area. The rest of my cervical spine is perfectly normal. Which is why he thinks that a successful surgery may fix the problem. That having been said, I still want to do everything I can to avoid further trauma to my neck. "I shall not die of a cold. I shall die of having lived." Willa Cather

Hi all: Before I pose my question, a little background: I'm a 49 year old male, 6', 200 lbs and still pretty in-shape for my age (hell, my live-in girlfriend of 4 years is 25 so...). But, I did lead a pretty "rough" life in my youth (lots of head and neck injuries in sports and other less acceptable extracurricular activities). I made my first tandem jump about a year ago, got hooked and started the student program making my way through to Solos. In early October, I was on a solo jump (managed a couple of good (intentional) forward flips in freefall) when I had a VERY hard opening which left my arms and legs largely numb and unmovable under canopy at 3,000 feet (Thank God I had a good canopy; not sure I could have accomplished a cut-away). I managed to get my hands into the toggles and flew the canopy back to the DZ. Landed into a perfect light steady breeze, promptly fell on my ass and thanked God I made it back. Then the pain hit. I've played 7 minutes of American football on a broken leg and been beaten to unconsciousness by a drunk with a 2x4. Nothing compared to this pain. Every nerve was on fire (even my hair hurt). 15 hours in 2 different emergency rooms, x-rays, MRIs and CAT scans (the Dilauadid was nice tho ) , a visit to my doctor and a visit to a spinal surgeon confirmed that I had fairly severe spinal stenosis at C5-C6 (not really caused by skydiving). The hard opening must have compressed the disks/spinal cord and the nerve roots, which caused the numbness and "shocking" sensation down arms and legs. Truth be told, I kinda knew something was going on because I knew I had a blown disk in my neck (happened maybe 10 years ago) and my hands and arms were going numb with increasing regularity. So, here I sit in a neck brace 2 weeks after a discectomy/spinal fusion surgery, including removal of bone spurs. Everything appears to be healing nicely, and most of the pain from the surgery is gone. Prior to the surgery, I specifically discussed jumping again with my surgeon and he didn't seem to have any problem with me doing so (assuming the operation/recovery were successful). So, I told you that story to ask this question: Even if the doctor gives me the all clear to jump again (yeah, I know; I've thought about all the risks and will continue to do so until I let go of the strut the next time), I was considering some sort of low-profile neck brace (similar to what professional motorcycle and snowmobile drivers wear) to help mitigate the risk. But, before I do so, I thought I would see if anyone has insight into the actual physics of a "hard opening."? It seems to me (admittedly, a novice) that the head's inertia in a hard opening would force the head/neck forward onto the chest. But, I guess I could envision a "whiplash" like scenario where the head gets forced backwards, thereby hyperextending the neck in a rearward direction. Can anyone shed some light on this? Of course, I'll check with my Instructors/more experienced Jumpers at the DZ, but the DZ is closed for the winter! Sorry for the long winded post. Be well and safe. "I shall not die of a cold. I shall die of having lived." Willa Cather

Thanks for the advice and direction everyone; greatly appreciated!! Following up with some phone calls/emails now. "I shall not die of a cold. I shall die of having lived." Willa Cather

Hi all: Does anyone know of any brands/manufacturers who make a super large hard helmet? I'm a new student with 7 jumps and while I can manage to squeeze my giant melon (measures 25" around if I pull the tape VERY tight) into a soft fap hat, it just doesn't fit into any hard helmets at my local DZ. I've checked a few catalogs and the largest XL hemet I could find is listed as fitting up to a 23" noggin. I'm thinking I going to have to resort to strapping on a 5 gallon orange plastic Home Depot bucket. . If so, I'll be sure to post pictures! Any advice or direction would be appreciated! "I shall not die of a cold. I shall die of having lived." Willa Cather