Our disastrous engagement

The Proposal

EWA: Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. I was finishing gearing up while Tim was putting the camera on a tripod. Aiming to capture the minutes before our first jump from Table Mountain. So there he was, approaching me; getting closer to the edge of the cliff where I was standing. He had a strange look on his face. He started speaking, with his voice shaking slightly and eyes weirdly glassed. Then I knew he was about to propose! He told me that he wants to spend the rest of his life with me, and that he was never so sure of anything in his life. He knelt on one knee and asked. “Will you marry me?” 

TIM: We stepped over the viewing platform and scrambled down to the edge of the cliff. Hidden from view we geared up and prepared for our jump. I reached into my pocket for the small box, got down on one knee and asked the question. My voice fluctuated, my rhythm broke. But I managed to get out all my rehearsed words. Ewa was surprised and elated by the proposal, which in turn caused a sigh of relief from myself; Ewa is far from a traditional romantic. I held the ring up, not sure what finger to put it on. (Polish wear it on the left hand.) A hidden applause erupted from the onlookers on the viewing platform. It was now time to compose ourselves ready for the jump. 

The flight and landing

EWA: Just like the hundreds of previous jumps we kept the same routine. Tim counted down and sprung into action and I jumped a split second after. The plan was simple, to fly together out towards the sea and pull over the rugby pitch where we were supposed to land. Our glide performance was limited as we focused too much on flocking together. My parachute opened with line twists, induced by my low speed. I first dealt with the line twists, spinning my body until they were clear. There wasn’t much altitude left  and I desperately looked for clear space to land. Avoiding the boulders I turned to my left having spotted an area clear of obvious obstacles. With no reference to wind direction and my time running out I took this as my alternative landing zone. I remember coming in fast. The flare in the parachute not as powerful as I had hoped. My ankle catching an object and tripping me over until I came to a stop. 

TIM: While I was still under canopy I saw Ewa take a hard landing, watching her bounce off the deck with a down-wind landing. I landed as close as I could amongst the charred tree stumps and shrubs. Ditching my kit I ran up to Ewa. She was sitting upright and crying. I had seen this crying before, nothing more than being pissed off with a bad landing or at worst a twisted ankle. But she didn’t dare look at her ankle as I walked up to her. I saw the blood trickling out of the wingsuit zip. As I unzipped the tail wing the skin covering her shin fell down to her toes. I told her to keep her eyes fixed on the mountain above us; the exit point where minutes before we stood in our own little world of happiness. 

The evacuation

EWA: I sat upright, sobbing and trying to process the accident. I realized the Gopro was still filming and got a grip of my sniffling. I wiggled my toes and bent my knee, realizing I was injured but unsure of the extent. At the same time I didn’t want to see the wound. Tim came rushing up, I’m sure I remember him asking “what’s up” and encouraging me to get up. Maybe because at this point my presence was considerably calm for someone with an injury as bad as it was. As Tim lifted the wingsuit, I could read from his expression that it wasn’t a minor scratch that I had hoped for. At that point I was convinced a hospital visit was unavoidable. Unsure of the possibility of a rescue we decided to make our own way back to the car.  

TIM: I could see the tibia intact, with no signs of damage. Grit and grass dirtied the wound, but it was not bleeding profusely. Ewa still did not know the extent of the damage. I asked her how much pain she was in and whether she could manage to get to the road. I ripped my shirt into strands so that I could bandage the wound, holding the skin back in place. Then fireman lifting Ewa 100 metres or so at a time I would then return to get the stash bags, and repeat the process until reached the road. When I came back Ewa had got up and started walking herself. She was unaware of how serious her injury was. After 2 hours of this I realized ripping my shirt off in some sort of compulsory act of heroism might have been a mistake. The midday heat of the African sun beat down on my back; though I think Ewa might have been in a slightly worse state than myself!   

The hospital

EWA: The first hospital we tried was a general public clinic. With a quick dismissive look at me I was told I wasn’t an emergency and I should come back in a few days. We then drove to a private hospital where I received immediate attention as soon as the nurse saw the wound. The nurse cut through Tim’s shirt uncovering the wound with a noticeable squirm. Making a point of not looking I instead stared at Tim as he took a picture. I was quickly on antibiotics and morphine and scheduled for surgery that afternoon. I would have never thought that my first and only plastic surgery would be in Africa! As the anesthesia took effect I asked the plastic surgeon if he could do my boobs as well. I spent the night in the ward before our flight home the next day. Fortunately the accident was at the end of our trip and also meant I could get extra legroom on our flight home. It was a wake up call as to what can happen. Although I was back jumping three months later, I more cautious with choosing exits now.  The way Tim handled the accident reiterated how fortunate I am to have Tim as my husband.

TIM: At the hospital I watched my shirt being cut off her leg. Ewa handed me the engagement ring that I tied around my neck. When she woke up I pulled out the cord from under my T-shirt to find the ring was missing. At least she would be able to choose her own ring now! Ewa still says it was the best trip we’ve been on. Two years after the engagement she replaced my shirt and a year after that we finally got married! Our engagement was definitely a day I will remember for so many reasons.