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| Contributed photo Freefalling, Richard Lockley gives a thumbs up to the rush of rushing toward the ground from 14,000 feet in the sky. An amputee, Lockley recently participated in his first sky diving experience, a tandem jump arranged through his rehabilitation clinic. Lockley said his experience was proof that amputees are not limited by their physical capabilities. |
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When most people jump out of a perfectly good airplane to indulge in the sport of skydiving, they are trying to prove something to themselves.
When making his first tandem freefall earlier this month, local resident Richard Lockley was trying to prove something to others. As an amputee who battled bone cancer in his right leg for 10 years, Lockley had nothing left to prove to himself.
"The Amputee and Prosthetic Center of Houston is very proactive in getting people back to doing what they were before their situation changed," Lockley said. "They like to use the theme of 'life after amputation' as a motivation. I'm of the opinion that the only limitations I have in my life are from the neck up, not those of the body. I concentrate on my abilities, not my disability."
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| Staff photo by Barry Halvorson Kyla Lockley, 11, is waiting to turn 18 so she can go skydiving with her father, Richard Lockley. Kyla's holding the artificial knee that came from the leg Richard had amputated. |
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Lockley, 36, said that he's always been kind of a 'high risk, high thrill' event kind of person looking for new challenges. While this was his first time skydiving, he said he figured he would have got around to it eventually in his quest for the next adrenaline rush.
"I like to push myself," he said. "Some people are content not to do anything but I've never felt that way. I may have found other outlets for my adventures if this opportunity with the amputee center hadn't come up, but when they made the offer I was in with the plan. I like being out on the edge."
And just prior to his jumping from 14,000 feet, he was on the edge - of the doorway exiting the plane.
"The nerves never hit me," he said. "There's usually going to be some sort of fear factor and I was asking myself when that little bit of panic was going to hit me."But it was such a moving event with the other amputees there by choice challenging themselves that it never happened. There was not sweaty palms, not shortness of breath. Once I reached the doorway, I was all grins and ready to leave the plane."
Lockley was fourth in line to make his exit. He said there was an older man, then an 89-year-old woman and then a younger woman, who did get a little hesitant at the door before Lockley's jump.
"It was something like I'd never experienced before," he said. "First thing I did when I landed was rushed over and bought another ticket. Now I've got some friends that are toying with the idea of jumping with me. It's something I plan on doing again in the near future."
As it is, he is now reliving the experience with a DVD recording of his jump. A DVD that includes a high energy rock music track selected by Lockley to reflect the excitement of the experience.New skydivers are required to make three tandem jumps - that is, sharing a parachute with an experienced jumper - before they are allowed to go solo. And going solo is next in line for Lockley.
"I want to reach the level where I can jump alone," he said. "I think that will be even more of a rush." And in reaching that goal, he'll position himself for another: to take his daughter Kyla, 11, jumping when she turns 18. Of course, it might have to wait until he meets another challenge he's set for himself this winter: Going skiing for the first time as an amputee.
"I want to try it with the special skis and ski poles, that have little skis on the end," he said. "I snow skied before the amputation so I want to do it again. I've water skied and been riding horses so I don't think it will be a big deal. "I've already looked into signing up with an instructor to get down the basics and then I'll be ready to go." When not pushing his boundaries, Lockley works at Wharton Feed and Supply and spends his off hours with his daughter and wife, Kara. He was born and raised in Wharton County and left only long enough to attend Sam Houston State University before coming back home. And shortly after the major life change of his daughter being born, he was faced with a second life change when he was diagnosed with bone cancer in his leg. He would eventually undergo a series of operations on the leg as doctors first tried to save the bone and later tried to save the leg with a knee replacement. But three years of infections resulting from the implant, and the accompanying pain, convinced him that losing the leg would actually be beneficial.
"I was actually ready for it in 2005 but the doctors talked me out of it and into one more replacement," he said. "It actually cleared up the infection for a while but when it came back, I was ready to make a change." The change came in May of this year when his leg was removed just above the knee. He has since gone through several prosthetic upgrades and now possesses a state-of-the-art artificial knee and lower leg.
He kept the artificial knee removed with his leg and now refers to it as being his very expensive paperweight. "And everything is easier or the same now than it was before," he said."Just eliminating the constant pain, the elimination of the discomfort I was experiencing has made me a better person. I can do things like kneel that I hadn't been able to do for a long time without experiencing severe pain. It's been six months and I'm feeling better and better every day."
Because he was prepared for the amputation after the long battle for cancer, Lockley admitted his situation is different from that of a person who loses a limb due in a traumatic incident such as a car wreck or industrial accident. But he said there is still a shared camaraderie. "There might be differences in our situation, but there is still the common factor. I know the people I went up in that plane with a lot better now just from the shared experience. And when I meet them at the clinic or on the street, I'll know them at least by face and first name for sure. It was an incredible experience that we shared." As his physical condition has improved, Lockley said he hasn't set any actual goals for himself.
But he does gain confidence once he's done something again for the first time. "I don't have a checklist or anything," he said. "I just go into regular work mode and figure out ways to get things done and don't realize it's an accomplishment until after it's happened. Actually, I have to be careful because sometimes I can get carried away." Even more important to Lockley than the physical improvement is the fact that the operation has made him a better husband and father. He explained that without the constant pain, he's found himself being more patient with others and that he is more comfortable with himself. "The mental part of things has exceptionally improved," he said. "Some people get stuck on something as small as a minor disability like mine. They can't see the forest for all the trees. Well, in my opinion, they're not looking in the right forest." And in reaching that goal, he'll position himself for another: to take his daughter Kyla, 11, jumping when she turns 18. Of course, it might have to wait until he meets another challenge he's set for himself this winter: Going skiing for the first time as an amputee.
"I want to try it with the special skis and ski poles, that have little skis on the end," he said. "I snow skied before the amputation so I want to do it again. I've water skied and been riding horses so I don't think it will be a big deal. "I've already looked into signing up with an instructor to get down the basics and then I'll be ready to go." When not pushing his boundaries, Lockley works at Wharton Feed and Supply and spends his off hours with his daughter and wife, Kara. He was born and raised in Wharton County and left only long enough to attend Sam Houston State University before coming back home. And shortly after the major life change of his daughter being born, he was faced with a second life change when he was diagnosed with bone cancer in his leg. He would eventually undergo a series of operations on the leg as doctors first tried to save the bone and later tried to save the leg with a knee replacement. But three years of infections resulting from the implant, and the accompanying pain, convinced him that losing the leg would actually be beneficial.
"I was actually ready for it in 2005 but the doctors talked me out of it and into one more replacement," he said. "It actually cleared up the infection for a while but when it came back, I was ready to make a change." The change came in May of this year when his leg was removed just above the knee. He has since gone through several prosthetic upgrades and now possesses a state-of-the-art artificial knee and lower leg.
He kept the artificial knee removed with his leg and now refers to it as being his very expensive paperweight. "And everything is easier or the same now than it was before," he said. "Just eliminating the constant pain, the elimination of the discomfort I was experiencing has made me a better person. I can do things like kneel that I hadn't been able to do for a long time without experiencing severe pain. It's been six months and I'm feeling better and better every day."
Because he was prepared for the amputation after the long battle for cancer, Lockley admitted his situation is different from that of a person who loses a limb due in a traumatic incident such as a car wreck or industrial accident. But he said there is still a shared camaraderie. "There might be differences in our situation, but there is still the common factor. I know the people I went up in that plane with a lot better now just from the shared experience. And when I meet them at the clinic or on the street, I'll know them at least by face and first name for sure. It was an incredible experience that we shared."
As his physical condition has improved, Lockley said he hasn't set any actual goals for himself. But he does gain confidence once he's done something again for the first time. "I don't have a checklist or anything," he said. "I just go into regular work mode and figure out ways to get things done and don't realize it's an accomplishment until after it's happened. Actually, I have to be careful because sometimes I can get carried away."
Even more important to Lockley than the physical improvement is the fact that the operation has made him a better husband and father. He explained that without the constant pain, he's found himself being more patient with others and that he is more comfortable with himself. "The mental part of things has exceptionally improved," he said. "Some people get stuck on something as small as a minor disability like mine. They can't see the forest for all the trees. Well, in my opinion, they're not looking in the right forest."
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