| Show Y h he e G Gift 1 eft Of Life Lef I e 1 CIo r 1 h L f. f By Lisa Keene Keenes s J. J This is a story about a gift o of life Its It's not a story about the birth of a baby nor is it about a miracle heal heal- ing Its It's a story about a courageous s woman chasing a life long life long dream o of sky diving and capturing it Youre You're thinking so special about that Well Ill I'll tell you Kathy Coston has always wanted to experience the thrill of soaring through the air She dreamed of parachuting from an airplane and feeling that high Four years ago Kathy was stricken with a rare disease called The cysts on her spine that characterize the disease left her paraplegic from the waist down Its It's a progressive disease that could eventually leave her paralyzed d from the neck down The dreams of her earlier life were shattered Her life seemed to be falling apart She found herself in a divorce and a custody battle for her children Until a year ago she wouldn't go out of her house according to toa a a friend But today May 26 1988 Kathy Coston is living Jiving again resuming her quest to fulfill long her long long life dream Thanks Thanks' to the Maurice Foundation an organization that op opens ns opportunities for the disabled Kathy has gained the courage to go for it Upon arrival to a small airport near Lehi Kathy compared her approaching experience to giving birth But she kept her sense of humor showing reporters an amusing list of thoughts thoughts- she composed the night before As the 1100 take off time approached Kathy became more and more nervous but never once said show her fear Her law in anything to sister nephew and nieces came to show Kathy love and give hersome her some needed much-needed support Before boarding the plane Jack Guthrie of Cedar Valle Valley Free Fall gave her a minute 5 course in sky sky- diving She and Jack would be jumping tandem which means her harness would be hooked to his in four places during the jump The sequence nce of movements of exiting the plane was crucial in order for them to be in control during J I Ithe the free fall Sitting by the door Kathy would be on Jacks Jack's lap with her knees close to her chest and pointIng pointing pointing point point- ing outward lTd Then she would let her legs hang out the door Shell She'll fold her arms and put her head back onto Jacks Jack's shoulder Jack will say Ready set go and they will be on their way with Kathy's wheelchair left idle on the ground The plane door closed the engine started and they began taxing We spectators had nothing to do now but wait as the plane circled for nearly a half hour climbing to feet over two miles We had no idea of the feelings and thoughts going through Kathy's mind as she was minutes from realizing her dream Finally we caught a glimpse of them exiting the the airplane They hurled toward the ground at miles per hour The second 45 free fall faIl seemed to last 45 minutes When their parachute opened to full bloom a sense of relief came over the spectators Kathy's dream would be a reality As they got closer to the ground we could hear the triumphant cries of Kathy She was experiencing sheer pleasure and awe without thinking about being ed She wasn't thinking about inaccessible buildings difficult mobility or any other obstacle facing disabled people She was free and just as able as anyone They landed and reality came back to Kathy's body Her legs could not support her She was once again disabled but her spirits were soaring Her first words were Lets do it again Her sisters sister's first words were We knew you were nuts In the next ten minutes as Kathy caught her breath and soaked in inn her experience she verbalized a few of her feelings The free fall scared the crap out of me It was beautiful better than anything The earth didn't look real more like a globe Ill I'll do it again right now if hed he'd Jack let me Despite her great feelings now she wasn't so gung- gung ho on the idea the whole time I came re reel 1 close to backing out Getting out was the hardest I wanted to crawl back in I cant can't believe I did it This is not a a. a once a is enough experience for the time one-time invalid Kathy Coston is hooked r i |
