A 16-year-old Texas girl who survived 3,500 foot plunge from a skydiving accident in Oklahoma spoke publicly Thursday for the first time, in which she gave thanks to God for giving her a second chance in life.
"I would like to, first of all, thank God," said Makenzie Wethington to the press held at Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation in Dallas.
"I pray every night," she said. "I say thank you for letting me still be here, for my recovery. I know he has a plan for me."
Wethington had always wanted to do the skydives as one of the things to do before going to college. She got her wish fulfilled on January 25th in Oklahoma, where she and her father, Joe Wethington, took turns and launched their bodies out of the plane.
Wethington's parachute never opened, and she plummeted to the ground at tremendous speed. Her injuries include a shattered spine, ribs, shoulder and pelvis and broke a tooth as well as brain trauma.
"I was scared and I know there was something very wrong...I think I went into shock," she recalled everything about the accident, but very little afterwards, according to NBC News.
Joe Wethington jumped first, and he saw his daughter's free fall to the ground that was almost certain to be fatal. By the time Joe reached his daughter, she was on her back writhing side-to-side gasping for air.
"She had such a scary look in her eyes; she couldn't catch her breath and every time she tried to take a breath she screamed," Joe Wethington said, according to KHOU.com.
Her father previously spoke of muttering, "Please don't be Makenzie, please, please God, don't be Makenzie" as he watched the figure plunge through the air. Later, doctors at Oklahoma University Medical hospital were baffled at how she survived such a fatal-fall, which they called it a miracle.
Less than a month since the accident, she's walking now with the help of a walker. Her physician, Seema Sikka, said she's made it 150 feet down the hall, according to KHOU.com. Pending additional test results, she could be home within the next home.
"I've seen a lot of amazing things in my career, but I can't explain how someone survives this," said Sikka, the KHOU.com reports.
Moreover, the doctor said she expects Wethington to be walking without the aid of a walker within the next month. While her survival alone has left many at lost for words, her remarkable recovery progress, despite the need for physical therapy, speech therapy, continues to makes those around her and who hear about the news to be in wonder and amazement.
Perhaps, her father offered the most plausible explanation: "Makenzie jumped out of a plane, but she fell in God's hands."
As for Wethington, she said she feels blessed to be alive, and that God gave her a second chance, according to KHOU.com."I want to specialize in trauma so I can relate to the patients more," she said. "I think this has just made me have a better look on life."
