Pregnant skydiver survives death-defying plunge: St. John's physicians complete her final surgery

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Dec. 18, 2008

A Willard  woman took the next step in her recovery from a parachute malfunction accident that happened in December 2005. Shayna Richardson (West) underwent facial plastic and reconstructive surgery at St. John's Hospital Dec. 5 to reconstruct a depression one side of her face and repair nasal deformities. St. John's Clinic facial plastic and reconstructive surgeons Drs. Matthew Kienstra and Keith LaFerriere performed the surgery at no cost beyond insurance coverage provided by TriCare. The hospital and anesthesiologists also provided their services at no cost beyond insurance coverage.

"We participate in a program called Face to Face, a national Domestic Violence Project that offers individuals who have been affected by domestic violence the hope of wholeness by treating facial injuries," explained Dr. LaFerriere. "When we met Shayna, we realized that even though she wasn't hurt by domestic violence, she has been struggling and living with the facial deformities caused by her horrific accident. We just wanted to do something for her."

West was making her 10th dive and first solo jump with a brand new parachute on a December day 2005 when things suddenly went wrong. Her main chute and her reserve failed to open properly and she spiraled out of control, falling thousands of feet. She landed face-first in a parking lot and lived to tell about it. It was estimated she was going 50 mph at impact. Her fall was caught on tape by a camera in her instructor's helmet.

West originally had four operations and had 15 plates put into her face. She also suffered two breaks in her pelvis and a broken right fibula. 

She learned in the emergency room that she was two weeks pregnant at the time. The baby survived the free fall and was born the following June.

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