Texas teen walks one week after skydiving accident

DALLAS - Doctors say the teen who took a serious fall in a skydiving accident is making an “incredible” recovery.

It’s been just over week since 16 year old Makenzie Wethington’s parachute only partially opened during her – first ever – skydiving attempt in Oklahoma.

She took a significant fall, but survived.

At Baylor Rehabilitation Institute, the teenager walked about 80 feet with the help of a walker, despite having suffered fractured vertebrae, pelvis, ribs and a hip bone, reports CBS Dallas.

She also suffered bleeding on her brain from the fall.

Even doctors are stunned at the pace of her recovery.

“I think in her case it’s pretty incredible that she came out of this and she came out with injuries that she could heal from,” said Dr. Seema Sikka.

They still don’t know what went wrong with the parachute but her father, Joe Wethington, who was with her during the jump, blames it on equipment failure and a lack of proper training before the jump.

It was the first time skydiving for both of them.

“My concern is not what happened that day,” said Holly Wethington, the teen’s mother. “It’s the fact that she’s still alive today and there’s a reason for it and my daughter is still here I get to see her every day.”

The teen remembers little about the accident.

“I’m just glad she’s here and she’s walking and she’s alive,” her mother said.

Her recovery could take weeks.

Holly Wethington said that her daughter was in good spirits and had lots of visitors over the weekend. “She is ready and eager to get well,” she said.

She said that the damage to her daughter’s teeth has made it hard for the teen to talk.

Her parents said that they did not have insurance, but Baylor Institute for Rehabilitation executive Jon Skinner said they qualified for a charity program that would cover her treatment there.