SSA has enriched my life in ways I never imagined. Serving on the board of directors has given me back something I thought I had lost after my accident: confidence, courage, and a stronger sense of self.
One day, while scrolling through Facebook, I came across a story that stopped me cold. A woman, who had already logged 72 jumps, had become paralyzed after her last skydive. But instead of letting that define her, she chose to celebrate her one-year anniversary of paralysis by skydiving again. She shared a video of the entire process — the prep, the lift into the plane, the jump, the joy. Watching her, I realized that maybe this wasn’t just for other people. Maybe it was possible for me too.
That’s when I scheduled my own family skydive for July 29, 2021.
Before my accident, I loved amusement park rides — anything that made my heart race and the adrenaline surge. I rode roller coasters with my boys, waiting for the day they were old enough to join me on the biggest rides. That part of me had been set aside for 12 years, and I believed those thrills were gone forever.
But the thought of skydiving — really diving out of an airplane — lit something inside me. Could I reclaim that thrill, even now? I wouldn’t know until I was at the airfield, suited up, strapped in, and rolling toward the open door of that plane.
That day, the unknown became a dream realized.
