Hi! I was watching a show and saw your accident and just couldn't believe my
eyes.
In 2001 I was on a 4 Wheeler and was hit by a truck. Broke a bunch of bones and tore
my left brachial plexus up pretty bad. I had a nerve transplant and 3 years of physical therapy. I had limited use before the surgery and something happened in the operation that ended up
making it worse. I never gained any additional use of my arm. Basically I can grip with 3 fingers and kind of have a small amount of bicep. Other than that its pretty useless. Well when I saw you I
was quite amazed and here's why...
Prior to my wreck I was learning to fly a small cessna. It was all I ever wanted to
do. I was addicted. Up until just a couple months ago I thought I would never be able to fly again. Over 11 years went by and I was just sad and always wishing I could fly.
I find your story quite amazing because it never seemed to cross your mind that you
would never jump again!
I decided a couple months ago that there was nothing else out there for me and that I
was gonna fly no matter what it took. I just soloed 3-14-13. Most amazing moment of my life! Here's the problem. Now that I know I can fly, I want more. I want to do aerobatics. I talked
to an instructor and he brought up something I hadn't thought about. Being able to bail and deploy a parachute. Well..... now what?
I gave it some thought and decided that when the time comes I'm atleast going to try.
But I also realized that there was a very real possibility that it wouldn't work out. Then I see you and wow!
In a perfect world I would love to come learn from you. But considering I love in mo
and money is a huge issue, that just probably won't work out. Regardless, I just felt like I needed to contact you and at the very least thank you. Because now atleast I know its possible and
that there's a real chance of reaching my dream. I can't thank you enough for that.
Amanda Rodelander