Is 7 minutes of ecstasy worth 20 minutes of agony?

At the end of October, on my 37th birthday, I decided to test this question by jumping out of a perfectly good plane at 13,000 feet.

My first skydive was about 6 years ago, prior to becoming paralyzed. I will never forget that day. At that time, I was dealing with some personal issues and was not in the best mental health. My brother and I drove up to Lincoln to go “solo” skydiving. I remember getting into the plane and instantly feeling an overwhelming sense of being claustrophobic. It’s not my first bout with claustrophobia. When you get in, they pack you in like sardines. The plane is unbelievably noisy, stuffy, and the pilot wears a parachute! For the inaugural jump, I was the last one in the plane, and the first one out. After making it to altitude, with my anxiety through the roof, it was time to jump. The second I stood on the edge of the plane, I did not have a worry in the world. When I let go, and started my free fall down to Earth, all of the issues I had been dealing with up to that point, instantly left my mind. I was living in the moment and that moment was pure joy. I was hooked.

Fast forward to last Sunday, now paralyzed, I decided to jump out of a plane once again. However, this time, it would be different. This time I knew the plane ride was going to be dreadful.

My brother and I had been talking about doing another jump, off and on over the previous few years. It just so happened to work out where I would be able to jump on my birthday, in one of the most beautiful places in the United States to skydive, Oceanside. On top of that, we picked the perfect day. The temperature was in the mid-80s, with only a few clouds in the sky. There was no wind, only a slight breeze. These were ideal skydiving conditions!

As previously mentioned, I now know what to expect from the plane ride. Some might say that that is a positive. For me, it was most certainly not. I had mentally freaked myself out before even getting on the plane. So, with that said, the 20-minute plane ride up to 13,000 feet was agonizing for me. Once again, I was the last one on, meaning I was the first one out. Also, as the last one on, you are seated right next to the door that everybody will be jumping out of. The whole plane ride up, I was literally within inches of the door. And of course, about halfway up, they decide to open the door to allow for some ventilation. As I’m sure you can guess, I was not a fan. With all of that said, I knew what was waiting for me once we made it to 13,000 feet.

My jumpmaster, Brandon, simply told me to not worry about anything and just have fun. I was confident with him, so my plan was to do just that. He rolled the door up, maneuvered our legs off the side of the plane, dangling over the beautiful, Southern California landscape, almost 2.5 miles below us. From there, we scooted over the edge.

At that point, the agony, anxiety, and claustrophobia instantly went away. I was now in a free fall, experiencing the rush of adrenaline. All of my worries instantly went away, just like they had 6 years earlier. I was living in the moment, as gravity did its work, plunging us towards the ground, at almost 120 mph. About 45 seconds later, the chute opened, and I could really start to take in the majestic view, that so few get to experience like this.

Five minutes later, we touched down, with a landing that I’m sure would have given us a perfect score at the Olympics. From there, I was thrown into a golf cart and taken back to reality. The whole adventure was only about 30 minutes.

I have to give a shout out to the team at GoJump Oceanside, especially to Brandon. The professionalism, organization, and confidence that you instilled did not go unrecognized. I would highly recommend this Drop Zone to anybody looking for a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Now, that takes us back to the original question that started this whole post: Is 7 minutes of ecstasy worth 20 minutes of agony? And the answer is, I honestly don’t know. I wish I had the experience to just jump out of a hot air balloon and not have to deal with the plane ride. So, will I do it again? Who knows. But, if I do, it’s going to be in 3 years, on my 40th birthday. So, if and when that does happen, who’s coming with me?

Click below to watch my sky diving experience!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGZ-wdnAUrY&feature=youtu.be