Michael Graham had already made 1,725 successful skydives before the jump that would change his life forever and make him a lifelong Red Cross blood donor.

It was Halloween Day in 1995, and Michael was employed as a skydiving instructor in Virginia. He had made three or four jumps that morning with first-time students. Next up, a man with more experience who was working to get his skydiving license.

鈥淭his was going to be a fun jump,鈥� said Michael, who now lives in Nampa, Idaho. 鈥淭his guy knows what he鈥檚 doing and has really done well through the program. This was not a high-pressure jump.鈥�

Michael, 28 at the time, had an idea. While the student would land in a wide-open area in the drop zone, Michael would do something special he was sure his trainee would never forget.

鈥淭here was a pond on the drop zone, and I thought, 鈥楪osh, when I come in for a landing, I would speed up my landing, come across the pond and shoot a rooster tail as if I were waterskiing. I would then skim out across the top of the pond, and I would land on dry ground on the other side.鈥欌��

Easier imagined than done.

The pond was boxed in by 100-foot pine trees on three sides, giving Michael little margin for error. As he closed in on the landing zone, the wind pushed Michael, making it difficult for him to get in the proper position to make the turn with enough height. That鈥檚 when he began to realize things weren鈥檛 going as planned. Still, he thought he would be OK.

鈥淚 got myself into that kind of danger zone really out of ego,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 thought at that time I was really indestructible. I had never been hurt skydiving, and I had 1,725 jumps.鈥�

To build up the speed he needed to get across the pond, he made a 90-degree turn. But he was too low.

鈥淚 hit the ground about 10 feet before the pond 鈥� in a dive,鈥� he said.

His knees struck first, instantly breaking both femurs. To make matters even worse, he front-flipped into the pond and its frigid October waters. A group on the ground immediately rushed to Michael鈥檚 aid, pulling him from the water and calling a lifeflight helicopter. A short time later, Michael was at a hospital in Fairfax, having 18-inch titanium rods inserted into each femur.

The surgery went well, and the next day doctors had plans for Michael to stand. But then he began feeling nauseous with a pounding headache.

鈥淪omeone came into the room and said, 鈥楳y God Mike, you look like a ghost. All the color in your face is gone 鈥� you don鈥檛 have any color in your skin. I think we have a problem here.鈥欌��

Because of the severity of the injury, blood was pooling in Michael鈥檚 legs and struggling to travel to his head, heart and upper extremities. Doctors rushed to give him three units of blood.

鈥淎lmost immediately my color came back, and I felt so much better,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f I had not gotten that blood transfusion and if it wouldn鈥檛 have been caught at that time it would have been extremely dire.鈥�

听A few days later, Michael left the hospital and would begin a grueling regimen of physical therapy, setting his mind on not only walking normally again but also returning to skydiving. For 40 hours a week for the next six months, Michael toiled away at the YMCA, making regaining strength and mobility a full-time job.

All that work paid off.

Just seven months after being pulled from a pond with two broken legs, Michael was back in a plane, ready to make his first jump since his terrifying accident. There was more than a little trepidation.

鈥淚t was actually more nerve wracking than it was to do my first jump,鈥� he said. 鈥淥n my first jump I didn鈥檛 know what to anticipate. On my 1,726 jump, I knew what I was getting myself into.鈥�

There was no pond swooping this time, and the jump went off without a hitch.

鈥淲hen I landed, all my friends gave me a high-five,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd then we packed up the parachute and did another one later that day.鈥�

Some 16,000 more jumps would follow as Michael returned to work as a skydiving instructor. On one of those jumps he met his wife-to-be, who was making her first skydive to celebrate her 30th birthday.

Now 55, Michael no longer jumps out of planes but remains grateful to his medical team, physical therapist and Red Cross blood donors for giving him the opportunity to return to the sky and find a partner along the way.

鈥淓ven after the accident 鈥� as traumatic as it was 鈥� I got to go back and do my passion, and the Red Cross in a way helped me with that,鈥� he said. 鈥淗ad it not been for getting back on the horse and keeping the dream alive I wouldn鈥檛 have met my wonderful wife.鈥�

The accident also cemented Michael as a lifetime Red Cross blood donor. Despite a fear of needles 鈥揾ard to believe for a guy who has jumped out of planes 17,000 times -- Michael now has a two-gallon donor pin and donates as often as he can.

鈥淏ecause of that three pints I got in the hospital I really wanted to give back,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t really left an imprint of how important it is.鈥�

And that fear of needles has subsided as well. He urges those who have never donated before to give it a try, even those who might be apprehensive.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just a momentary pinch and there鈥檚 no pain to it,鈥� he said. 鈥淥vercoming that little bit of fear really opens up the gate. You need a community in order to thrive and if you don鈥檛 have people who are willing to give of themselves then that hampers us from growing and thriving.

鈥淥nce you have given blood you never ask why you would do it. You ask yourself, 鈥榃hen can I do it again?鈥欌��

听

DONATE LIFESAVING BLOOD

Every two seconds, someone in this country needs lifesaving blood, including patients here in Idaho. To find a blood drive near you and make an appointment to donate, visit RedCrossBlood.org and enter your zip code or call 800-RED-CROSS. Donating blood takes less than an hour and can help save more than one life.