A 25-year-old woman who ‘fell from the sky’ and was left paralysed after a freak skydiving accident announced she will be returning to the site it happened – and the thought terrifies her.
Queensland native Emma Carey has been talking about her accident on social media and spreading positivity for the last five years – but has finally mustered up the courage to return to Switzerland.
‘I haven’t been back since so I have no idea how it’s going to make me feel. Maybe a lot, maybe nothing. I have no idea,’ she explained in a revealing Instagram post.
Queensland native Emma Carey has been talking about her accident on social media and spreading positivity for the last five years
‘I only booked this ticket last week and I don’t exactly know what I’m going to do once I get there.
‘The thought of going back to Europe makes me feel sick. It’s like everything in my body is screaming at me to not go back there, to the place where it got so hurt.
‘But everything else is me is begging me to go, to create new memories, to stop thinking about it so much and to finally enjoy a European summer for what it should have always been… fun.’
Emma was told she would spend the rest of her life confined to a wheelchair following the horrific incident in 2013 which forced her to re-learn how to walk.
Emma was told she would spend the rest of her life confined to a wheelchair following the horrific incident in 2013 which forced her to re-learn how to walk
She admitted that the accident cost her many things, including her work, relationship and elements of her family, and she’s afraid things will change again
‘It’s not that I’m worried about something going wrong over there again, it’s more the thought of coming home which scares me,’ she said.
‘Last time I left I came home to an entirely different world. Not only was my body forever changed but every other aspect of my life was as well.’
She admitted that the accident cost her many things, including her work, relationship and elements of her family, and she’s afraid things will change again.
‘I think what scares me now is I am SO in love with the new life I’ve created here. My job, my friends, my home, my body I’ve worked so hard to heal, my happiness… it feels like there’s a lot to lose.
‘This might explain why I almost miss every flight I catch… I think subconsciously a part of me actually WANTS to miss it. I love travelling but it’s definitely not something which comes easy to me anymore.’
Emma Carey (pictured) has explained the story behind her seemingly ordinary mirror selfie. The young woman has been living with a spinal cord injury where she suffers from bladder incontinence
The young woman was told she would spend the rest of her life confined to a wheelchair following the horrific Switzerland incident in 2013
One of the other side effects of her accident was suffering from bladder incontinence; a result of her spinal cord injury.
Previously, Emma shared a seemingly ordinary mirror selfie – but on closer inspection, her denim shorts are covered in urine.
‘This is what I look like every. single. day. Multiple times a day,’ she said.
‘I think because I can walk, people tend to think I have completely recovered from my spinal cord injury but the truth is I still have many lasting effects, one of them being that I am completely incontinent with both my bladder and bowels.’
At first, Emma said she would hide out at her home so her friends and family would never find out about her problem out of fear of judgement.
‘I was so embarrassed by this and tried to keep it a secret. I didn’t leave the house because I was so worried that people would find out,’ she explained.
‘I wouldn’t tell anyone why I had to be near a toilet at all times. I wouldn’t let anyone see my catheters or pads.
‘I would run away and hide every time I had an accident. It was exhausting trying to keep it a secret, so instead I just didn’t let anyone close to me.’
The photograph taken just moments before Emma landed on her stomach with her instructor on top of her. She was left with a broken spike, shattered pelvis and spinal cord crushed
Emma was told she would be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. But against all odds, she found the strength to walk again just one year after the horrific skydiving accident
But despite her insecurities, Emma said she soon realised she needed to accept the new part of her life whether she liked it or not.
‘It wasn’t long until I realised that if I was going to get upset and angry every time I peed myself, it would mean that I would be upset and angry every single day of my life,’ she said.
‘For the rest of my life. And that’s when it hit me.. I survived a bloody skydiving accident. I don’t know how or why but I know that it certainly wasn’t to live a depressing life. I owed myself way more than that.’
Now five years on, Emma said she has since learned to embrace her condition where her ‘bladder can only hold 100mLs before it leaks’.
‘I don’t think I have a single friend that hasn’t seen me pee,’ she admitted.
‘I tell people about my incontinence generally within 10 minutes of meeting them. And now I’m posting a picture of my pee covered pants to over 100,000 people without a second thought.
Emma has been documenting her carefree lifestyle on social media – and she has since accepted the new part of her life
Five years ago, Emma’s parachute and emergency chute became tangled during a dive and choked her instructor, who became unconscious
Despite suffering severe injuries, Emma learned to walk again as she made a remarkable recovery
‘The point of this isn’t for sympathy or for praise, it’s to show you that it is completely and entirely possible to not give a single sh** about the things that people expect you to care about.
‘Just because we have grown up to believe that certain things are taboo or shouldn’t be spoken about, doesn’t mean that they are.
‘Just because people think you should feel embarrassed about something, doesn’t mean you need to. Just because people might judge you on a certain thing, doesn’t mean you need to care. How you feel about certain situations is entirely up to you.
‘If you own your life and all your ‘flaws’, they will never be able to own you. It’s the most freeing thing in the world.’
Five years ago, Emma’s parachute and emergency chute became tangled during a dive and choked her instructor, who became unconscious.
The subsequent free fall saw her land on her stomach with her instructor on top of her. She was left with a broken spine, shattered pelvis and spinal cord crushed.
Eventually, she began physical therapy at a Sydney hospital, which was when she slowly and steadily learned to walk again.