Can you imagine being a wheelchair user and the feeling of skydiving 14,000 feet in the air?
Talk about a new level of exhilaration.
Well, 19-year-old Matthew Dooley, a wheelchair user with cerebral palsy fell to the earth at 120-200 miles per hour like it was no big deal.
Matthew has had cerebral palsy since he was born, making his motor function and body movement is very limited. Although majority of his daily activities are difficult for him, he deals with it with his significant amount of courage and positivity.
Cerebral palsy is caused from brain damage before or at birth and it results in impaired muscle coordination. Approximately 8,000-10,000 babies that are born are diagnosed with this disability each year.
Since dreaming of skydiving since he was little, he finally had the chance to d experience it on his 18th birthday. Skydiving has become his favorite hobby and Matthew does not let his disability affect that. Though he is stuck in a wheelchair, he knows to make the best of it with such a positive attitude.
He has now skydived seven times since his 18th birthday and has grown to have an immense dedication for it.
For those who are disabled, their disadvantages disappear as they skydive and free themselves as they fall 14,000 feet, gracefully landing to the ground. It is something every wheelchair user should experience.
Matthew’s goal is to skydive 100 times in his lifetime, as he knows there is no reason for him to deal with fear.
Skydiving is such a freeing feeling for Matthew as it makes him forget that he has a disability and describes it as “the best feeling in the world.”
Doesn’t this make you want to experience skydiving just like Matthew? I guess it’s time to drive your used handicap vans and find a place to skydive near you!