Amputee 'all grins' as he tries skydiving
By BARRY HALVORSON news@leader-news.com

When most people jump out of a perfectly good airplane to indulge in the sport of skydiving, they are trying to prove something to themselves.

When making his first tandem free-fall last month, local resident Richard Lockley was trying to prove something to others. As an amputee who battled bone cancer in his right leg for 10 years, Lockley had nothing left to prove to himself.

"The Amputee and Prosthetic Center of Houston is very proactive in getting people back to doing what they were before their situation changed," Lockley said. "They like to use the theme of 'life after amputation' as a motivation. I'm of the opinion that the only limitations I have in my life are from the neck up, not those of the body. I concentrate on my abilities, not my disability."

Lockley, 36, said that he's always been kind of a 'high risk, high thrill' event kind of person looking for new challenges. While this was his first time skydiving, he said he figured he would have got around to it eventually in his quest for the next adrenaline rush.

"I like to push myself," he said. "Some people are content not to do anything, but I've never felt that way. I like being out on the edge."

And just prior to his jumping from 14,000 feet, he was on the edge - of the doorway exiting the plane.

"The nerves never hit me," he said. "There's usually going to be some sort of fear factor and I was asking myself when that little bit of panic was going to hit me. But it was such a moving event with the other amputees there by choice challenging themselves that it never happened. There was not sweaty palms, not shortness of breath. Once I reached the doorway, I was all grins and ready to leave the plane."

Lockley was fourth in line to make his exit. He said there was an older man, then an 89- year-old woman and then a younger woman, who did get a little hesitant at the door before Lockley's jump.

"It was something like I'd never experienced before," he said. "First thing I did when I landed was rushed over and bought another ticket. Now I've got some friends that are toying with the idea of jumping with me. It's something I plan on doing again in the near future."

As it is, he is now reliving the experience with a DVD recording of his jump. A DVD that includes a high energy rock music track selected by Lockley to reflect the excitement of the experience.

New skydivers are required to make three tandem jumps - that is, sharing a parachute with an experienced jumper - before they are allowed to go solo. And going solo is next in line for Lockley.

"I want to reach the level where I can jump alone," he said. "I think that will be even more of a rush."

And in reaching that goal, he'll position himself for another: to take his daughter Kyla, 11, jumping when she turns 18.

Of course, it might have to wait until he meets another challenge he's set for himself this winter: Going skiing for the first time as an amputee.

When not pushing his boundaries, Lockley works at Wharton Feed and Supply and spends his off hours with his daughter and wife, Kara. He was born and raised in Wharton County and left only long enough to attend Sam Houston State University before coming back home.

And shortly after the major life change of his daughter being born, he was faced with a second life change when he was diagnosed with bone cancer in his leg.

He would eventually undergo a series of operations on the leg as doctors first tried to save the bone and later tried to save the leg with a knee replacement. But three years of infections resulting from the implant, and the accompanying pain, convinced him that losing the leg would actually be beneficial.

The change came in May of this year "and everything is easier or the same now than it was before," he said.

Even more important to Lockley than the physical improvement is the fact that the operation has made him a better husband and father. He explained that without the constant pain, he's found himself being more patient with others.

"The mental part of things has exceptionally improved," he said. "Some people get stuck on something as small as a minor disability like mine. They can't see the forest for all the trees. Well, in my opinion, they're not looking in the right forest."