Back to the Extreme

For many extreme sport lovers, accidents are common but also conquerable. There is a determination, a spirit to push though injuries to return to the adrenaline, regardless of the often pessimistic opinions of the medical community. Jacob Fry was told he would never sky dive again. And boy did he prove them wrong…

"A huge milestone for me was that I had a goal. The doctors said I would never be able to fly again. I'd never be able to sky dive or anything like that. I was sky diving before the accident and I was doing a piloting course as well. I was only two weeks away from being a qualified pilot and I hit a truck. So when the doctors said I'd never be able to fly again, I'd never be able to sky dive again, one of my biggest goals and determinations was to prove the doctors wrong, to defy them and jump out of a plane again...

Three years after my accident, I got to jump out of a plane. And it was incredible. And I've been skydiving ever since.

It was the most incredible feeling ever. It was such a….I get tingles even talking about it. It was such a…it was such an amazing feeling of accomplishment. And also a feeling of freedom, of knowing 'I'm back'.

Like I've gone through all of this and this is the goal, this is where I'm back to doing what I love doing. Like I was able to surf and wakeboard beforehand but skydiving was the big one. And there was channel 10 news, I think they were there, there were reporters and stuff, it was massive, it was such an accomplishment. That was the biggest high I reckon.

"I think a big thing for me was that I was very fortunate that I could keep seeing improvement with my recovery.

Even though at the start, when I first got to rehab, I could only sit up by myself. It took 2 nurses to help me sit on the side of the bed and I could last thirty seconds and then I had to lie back down and I was stuffed for the rest of the day. I was so exhausted, it just took so much out of me to have the concentration to sit up.

Literally two weeks before I'd had all my guts open. I had no core strength cause they'd gone right through all my muscles, my guts. So just sitting up was such a massive effort.

I went from doing that and just thinking 'Oh my goodness, I'm going to be in here for ages'. It felt like I was so weak and didn't have a clue how I was going to go. But then I kept each day getting better and better, stronger and stronger and healing really fast and by the end of that final week on my crutches I was able to crutch in the rehab area for 70m.

And I could see myself getting stronger, with less pain, able to do more things. And I think that it just made me want to keep going and doing more extreme sports. Because I love extreme sports and I love adrenaline, that's what I'm all about. So just having that motivation to get better, to do these things, it's almost a tick off the list of going yep, I can do that, next thing what can I do, and then working towards that. Extreme sports I guess as well is one of the big things that's motivated me to get better, just to be able to feel alive again.

I kind of do that with all aspects of life. Give it 100% and see how it goes."

- Jacob Fry

(Check out Jacob's other two stories: Wolverine's Miracles and the Isolation of Healing)

No matter what happens, always keep striving and chasing your impossible. Send us your story to celebrate the incredible journeys we all undertake...