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Re: Base Jumping Accident (Aftermath)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...oes-wrong.html
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'That didn't go good!': Man calmly films himself nearly losing his leg after BASE jump in Utah goes wrong
Utah man nearly snapped off his lower leg and foot during botched BASE jump
Ammon McNeely, 43, suffered injury after parachute did not fully deploy
Remained remarkably calm as he sat on a ledge waiting for rescue
Doctors reasonably confident leg and foot can be saved
By Daily Mail Reporter
PUBLISHED: 12:33 EST, 31 October 2013 | UPDATED: 13:15 EST, 31 October 2013
A man suffered severe injuries to his leg after a BASE jumping accident in Moab, Utah earlier this week.
The story has gone viral after the injured man, Ammon McNeely, 43, posted a video of himself reacting calmly in the moments after the accident.
According to a post on the man’s Facebook page, the accident happened after several others in the group had already jumped.
Scroll down for video...
Agony: Ammon McNeely, 43, posted a video of him reacting with surreal calm to his mangled leg, although the pain on his face is clear to see
Not a leg to stand on: On a ledge after falling from a BASE jumping parachute mishap, Ammon McNeely photographed his leg, broken below the shin
Man calm after snapping leg base jumping
The Grand County Sheriff’s office said McNeely’s parachute did not fully deploy.
As he fell, he hit the rock wall several times before finally coming to a rest on a cliff 600 feet above Kane Creek Boulevard.
'I jumped, probably took a tad longer delay than I should have, I struck the cliff with my left foot and continued rag dolling down the cliff where I finally came to rest on a sloping ledge.
I knew I was banged up but to my utter surprise my foot was flipped on its side looking very similar to a nalgene bottle with just a sliver of skin keeping it on.
Misjudged: McNeely had just free fallen around 250 feet before his parachute opened the wrong way dashing him into the cliff where he 'rag dolled' another 150 feet
Misjudged: McNeely had just free fallen around 250 feet before his parachute opened the wrong way dashing him into the cliff where he 'rag dolled' another 150 feet
Seconds from disaster: McNeely said he used parachute settings he wasn¿t used to, jumped off a landing site that was brand new to him, and went a tiny bit lower than he should have
My first thought was, I want to wiggle my toes, because this is the last time I will ever feel that sensation'
There on a ledge where he came to rest, McNeely pointed the video camera to his stump of a leg, and amidst painful expletives said: 'I think I lost my leg on that one;' then he apologized to his mom, and said 'not cool.'
Fortunately for Mr McNeely, one of the men in his group was an EMT.
It took around 45 minutes for search and rescue crews to reach him and airlift him to hospital.
'I lost nearly three pints of blood and was very close to leaving this world by the time the helicopter got me to the hospital.
On the extremely graphic video posted to YouTube, McNeely remains surprisingly calm throughout the video, casually panning back and forth between his face and his mangled leg.
He also repeatedly says he believes he’ll lose his leg.
Composed: Viewers have been surprised how calm McNeely remained in the minutes after the accident
In BASE jumping, typically the jumper only has a few seconds to pull the parachute chord to prevent impact.
On this occasion McNeely said he used parachute settings he wasn’t used to, jumped off a landing site that was brand new to him, and went a tiny bit lower than he should have.
'If you take one of those equations out of it, I would have been fine, but with all … of those it gave me a problem,' he said.
According to his Facebook post, which contains a graphic image of the mangled limb, Mr McNeely said the leg has been saved for now, but he said the possibility of infection means he could still lose the leg.
At the hospital, over a period of two days, doctors performed four reconstructive surgeries and got his leg re-attached. 'The doctors said that it was a miracle that they saved the leg,'
Mr McNeely makes it clear that he is well aware of the risks of his sport.
Risky business: McNeely has had several major accidents while both climbing and BASE jumping
'BASE jumping is a very hard activity to explain to those who have never experienced the sensation and freedom of leaping off a cliff. Just like rock climbing it's something that you have to be very passionate about to except the risks that come with the amazing feeling you get while following your dreams.
I was absolutely prepared to wake up the next morning, minus a foot. I joked about going full pirate mode with a peg leg but knew it could be a reality and was very sad about it. Somehow, they saved it. I'm not completely in the clear at this moment, due to possible infection... but, I survived.
So, the question is; Do we stand up and take the risks and have a blast enjoying our passions in life? Or, do we hide in the shadows, being afraid of what might happen if we are so bold to follow our dreams?'
McNeely’s expecting another two weeks in the hospital if all goes well, and then a further six to nine months before he can walk again. He’s hoping within a year’s time, he can get back at it, he said, although, 'it’ll never be the same again.'
Sorry mom: McNeely's apologizes to his mother for taking the risks that caused the tragic accident. 'That did go too well,' he says in the video
Recovering: Despite the horrific nature of McNeely's injury, doctors were able to reattach the foot and there is a 70 per cent chance he will recover well enough to be able to use it again
Recovering: Despite the horrific nature of McNeely's injury, doctors were able to reattach the foot and there is a 70 per cent chance he will recover well enough to be able to use it again
McNeely has had several major accidents while both climbing and BASE jumping. One of them occurred on a big wall-climbing route in Zion National Park – one of his favorite places in the world, he said; that injury took months to recover from.
He also took an 80-foot fall climbing El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. He shattered his tibia last year in a BASE jumping accident; and he was injured after BASE jumping off a building in Pittsburgh.
Aware of the risks of his activities, McNeely said that the benefits greatly outweigh them. 'In those moments everything in life just makes sense,' he said.
Most people on this earth are looking for those moments, McNeely said. His activities bring him serenity. They do not bring him much of an adrenaline rush, he said, as most people wrongly assume. Instead of adrenaline, he said he finds a focused meditation. 'It’s something that is very very hard to explain, it’s a very personal thing, it’s hard to put into words why I do it.'
Read more:
Ammon McNeely's Photos
Moab Base Jumping Accident
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