After surviving a skydiving accident that could have taken her life, 16-year-old Makenzie Wethington is speaking about her rehabilitaion. INSIDE EDITION has the details.
The 16-year-old girl who miraculously survived a horrific skydiving accident is speaking out for the first time. Makenzie Wethington went skydiving as part of her Sweet 16 gift, but her parachute failed to fully open.
She said at a press conference, “I know I was scared and I know there was something very wrong. I think I was focused on how I could fix it.”
Makenzie fell an incredible 3,500 feet. She suffered a brain hemorrhage, broken vertebrae, fractured ribs, and liver and kidney lacerations.
Doctors say her progress has been remarkable.
“I'm very thankful that I can move as well as I can,” she said.
Harlem Globetrotter Bull Bullard befriended her in the hospital. He was nearly crushed by a falling hoop when he dunked a basket on tour with the Globetrotters.
He said, “I was out for two months!”
Makenzie said to him, “You were out for two months?! I fell out of a plane and I was walking in four days!”
“He was very nice, very funny, and he made me feel real good,” said Makenzie.
She had begged her dad to give her permission to go skydiving, saying, “I saw that in Oklahoma you could skydive at 16 with a parent's consent. So, I called my dad right away and I was like, ‘Dad, please let's go skydiving, I want to do this so bad!’”
Makenzie and her parents were wearing t-shirts that read: “How strong are you?”
She says she knows the answer, “Strong enough to fall 3,500 feet and live!”
