A highly experienced skydiver had a nasty surprise when he fell 12,000 feet with a malfunctioning parachute last week. Luckily, he survived and was in for a better surprise after Internet users rallied to raise almost $50,000 to pay his medical expenses.
Wales native Ben Cornick broke his arm, shattered his elbow, and broke his leg in three different places after attempting a 12,000-foot jump in Fiji last week that ended in Cornick smashing into a van at 45 mph when he lost control of his parachute.
The 31-year old Cornick had no insurance, and was forced to take an emergency flight to New Zealand for surgery on his leg, or risk losing it as a result of infection from the damage he sustained in the fall. The veteran skydiver racked up more than $82,000 in estimated medical expenses and is still severely incapacitated.
Since his dramatic story made its circle around the web, a Facebook page has been set up by friends and family to let supporters donate to Cornick’s recovery, which so far includes more than 30 metal plates and screws while doctors continue to search for more broken bones, according to news.com.au.
Cornick is expected to remain in the hospital for at least three more weeks, and the page encourages donors to help with Cornick’s post-operation care and family expenses. Cornick has a young son, Alfie, who was born last month.
Donors can send Paypal payments to rickyjdavies@hotmail.co.uk and connect through the hashtag #DONATETOBEN.
