Quadriplegic Dies in Skydiving Accident: When Should Boundaries to Dreams Be Drawn?

The tragic death of a quadriplegic in a skydiving accident, Jack Fogel, has raised a number of questions about the dreams of the disabled and if they should be undertaken or not. Being only 27 years old, Jack has had previous experience in skydiving, even though he became a quadriplegic during his teen years as the result of being hit by a car. To many people, it may seem that Fogel was obstinate rather than determined to become a professional skydiver. He did, after all, rack up 125 jumps in five years time. He even had a custom made parachute that would allow him to open it while he was skydiving. But this skydive, which occurred in Idaho along with other professional skydivers at the Lost Prairie Boogie event which took place near the city of Marion. The accident investigators claim that Fogel did not properly set up a device that would have automatically deployed his reserve parachute, after watching a video of the stunt. While his family is no doubt devastated over the accident '" reports say he fell at the speed of 120 miles per hour from a height of 18,000 feet, unable to activate the parachute corn in time before he fell '" one must ask if this sort of activity was at all suitable, or even smart, for this young man to undertake in the first place.

The reality is that not everyone can gain access to their dreams, no matter what it may be. For a disabled person, even more boundaries than normal might be necessary when explaining why he or she should not bother to try and undertake a dream. Having the lack of physical ability to do something like skydiving will more often than not result in an accident like this. It cannot be argued that an able-bodied person would have as much chance at dying in a skydiving accident as a disabled person would.

Fogel's family at this point will ask themselves "Why did this happen" on the outside, but on the inside they might be asking themselves, "Wasn't this preventable? Would he have been better off staying at home indulging in a safer dream rather than live dangerously?" Herein lies the problem: the desire to live dangerously is not confined to the able bodied, as the disabled can also have the desire to live that way. Had Fogel's family drawn the line for him, at some point he would have had to give in, if he believed in loving and obeying his family. Telling him "No" to skydiving in this case would indeed have been for his own good. Looking out for the ones you love is sometimes necessary, drawing the boundaries to protect them so that there is no unnecessary loss. Hopefully Fogel's family can move past their misgivings about their son's skydiving accident and remember him as someone who was full of life, even if life eventually got the better of him.

http://news.yahoo.com/skydiving-quadriplegic-plunges-death-montana-231438001.html

http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Quadriplegic-man-dies-in-Mont-skydiving-accident-1682180.php