Parasailing Accident Update: Teens Showing 'More Progress' (VIDEO)
Sidney Good and Alexis Fairchild are making "more progress" after their devastating parasailing accident, their families said. The girls were parasailing when the parasail broke loose and slammed them into a condominium.
"Our daughters, Sidney Good and Alexis Fairchild, are still at Bay Medical Center in Panama City, Florida, recovering from a parasailing accident on July 1; however we have seen more progress from yesterday," the families said in a joint statement yesterday.
"Alexis was able to walk today with a walker and the assistance of a physical therapist and she walked into Sidney's room to visit. Sidney is still in critical condition, but we are seeing small signs of progress. She is able to open one of her eyes and communicate to us with nods and gestures," the family added.
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The 17-year-old girls both underwent brain surgery to reduce swelling. Alexis is able to be up and walk around, but Sidney is still confined to her bed and has a broken neck.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time that a parasailing accident has occurred in Florida. Last year, Kathleen Miskell, 28, and her husband Stephen were parasailing when her harness failed and she plunged 200 feet into the ocean. Kathleen was in cardiac arrest by the time officials reached her; they performed CPR on the way to the hospital, but she was pronounced dead.
There have been 33 parasailing accidents in Florida since 1998; six resulted in fatalities, ABC News reported. Aquatic Adventures, owner of the equipment Sidney and Alexis used, was one of several that blocked new safety standards.
"We've started creating our own standards … We've got a good plan going," James Vaught, a managing partner at Aquatic Adventures told The News Herald.
"If we can produce national safety standards for this industry so that they can apply these in the field, of course we would hope that the net result of all this work would be fewer accidents," Larry Meddock of the Water Sports Industry Association told ABC News.
Watch a video of the girls here:
