[Members] Nebraska man injured while skydiving will Trek Up the Tower

[Shaun Burdess]

Nebraska man injured while skydiving will Trek Up 
the Tower



By Katy Healey / 
World-Herald staff writer
February 21, 
2014


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Courtesy photo


Jay Roane and his wife Patti Freshman pose for a picture after walking a 5K 
last summer. Roane, of Springfield, Neb., needed a wheelchair after a skydiving 
accident in 2012 but slowly regained the ability to walk through physical 
therapy. He will participate in the annual Trek Up the Tower in Omaha on 
Saturday. 








Jay Roane was floating 30 feet from the ground while 
skydiving when a gust of wind forced his parachute away from the landing site 
and his body onto the concrete. 
His ankle shattered. The impact shot up his spine and fractured his pelvis. 
But Roane couldn't feel the pain. 

 
“I knew right away that I couldn't move my legs,” the 52-year-old said. “I 
pictured the rest of my life, sitting in a wheelchair.” 

Now, 18 months after his accident, he's picturing himself standing at the top 
of Nebraska's tallest building. 

Roane is one of more than 2,000 people who will climb 870 steps to the top 
floor of the First National Tower in Omaha this weekend. The eighth annual Trek 
Up the Tower is Saturday. The race sold out one month after registration opened 
last fall. 

The First National Tower is 40 stories — a little taller than two football 
fields stacked on top of one another. 

More than a dozen firefighters from the Omaha and Papillion departments will 
kick off the event around 7:15 a.m., climbing the tower in full gear, along with 
Omaha police chief Todd Schmaderer. 

About 10 minutes later, one person will start climbing every five seconds to 
avoid overcrowding. Once they reach the top, an elevator will take them back to 
the lobby. 

The first place finisher usually races to the top in less than 5 minutes, 
though most people finish in about 12 minutes. 

Roane, of Springfield, Neb., expects to reach the last step after 30 minutes 
of climbing. 

Roane calls the feat a miracle he won't take for granted. 

He spent seven weeks at a rehabilitation hospital in Lincoln after the 
accident. He learned to transfer himself from his wheelchair to the bed and back 
to his wheelchair. He stood on his knees for just seconds at a time to 
strengthen the muscles in his legs that still functioned — his quads and about 
25 percent of his hamstrings. 

Roane continued rehab as an outpatient at the hospital, and by last March he 
transitioned from a wheelchair to a walker and eventually a cane, which he still 
uses today. 

Last summer, he walked a 5K. His next goal, he decided, was to finish Trek Up 
the Tower. 

He practiced for the event at local hospitals, climbing up five floors, 
taking the elevator to the lobby and repeating the process again and again. 

His cane will help him scale the stairs as will a brace on his left leg that 
looks a little like a soccer player's shinguard. 

Roane has half the sensation on the bottom of his feet as most people, which 
makes balancing difficult. He doesn't have use of his calf muscles, so his legs 
tire more quickly. The range of motion in his left ankle, which was shattered in 
the accident, is still limited. 

This time last year, Roane was more comfortable in a wheelchair than walking. 
Now, thanks to physical therapy, he's trekking up the tower. 

Contact the writer:
402-444-1071, 
katy.healey at owh.com
twitter.com/KatyHealey5
 
 
 

 
From: burd0352 at hotmail.com
To: members at skydivelspc.com
Date: Fri, 21 Feb 2014 09:37:55 -0600
Subject: [Members] Nebraska man injured while skydiving will Trek Up the	Tower




Article about Jay.
 
http://www.omaha.com/article/20140221/LIVEWELL02/140229844/1685#nebraska-man-injured-while-skydiving-will-trek-up-the-tower
 
 
 
 		 	   		  

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