Risking his life for a stranger

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Risking his life for a stranger

For Dave Hartsock, a 44-year-old skydiving instructor, going skydiving had been standard routine for years. For Shirley Dygert, a 54-year-old woman, it was her first time to go. She decided to go on the adventure to celebrate her 54th birthday. She was afraid, but also very excited to be doing something so adventurous and out of the ordinary.
Dave was her instructor. They did what is referred to as a tandem jump - they jumped together, Shirley attached to Dave, who was hovering above her and would open the parachute.
At first, everything went according to plan. Shirley was enjoying herself and the remarkable view. But when it came time for Dave to open the parachute, it opened only partially. Disasterously, the backup parachute got tangled with the first one. They were now freefalling through the air. Shirley was terrified, praying to god she wouldn't have to die this way.
And Dave was determined to do everything in his power to make sure that she wouldn't. Courageously, he repositioned himself so that he was falling below Shirley, hoping his body would be enough to soften the blow for her.
They hit the ground, with Dave's back taking most of the impact.
When they hit the ground, he, though in extreme pain, managed to selflessly ask her if she was OK. After she replied, he passed out.
Dave's spine was completely shattered by the fall. Shirley had broken some vertebrae in her neck. While Shirley recovered fully from her injuries, Dave was completely paralysed from the neck down.
Dave remains brave and optimistic even in the face of paralysis, and some of the feeling in his body has already returned. When Shirley visited him in the hospital, he was joking around, and cheering her up as well. He has even suggested they go skydiving again. The two now have a close relationship. Shirley says she'll never forget what he did for her.
He put his own life at risk to save a stranger's. But Dave doesn't think of himself as a hero. He reckons he wouldn't have been abl,

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