Teenager who was left in critical condition after smashing into condo in parasail accident reunites with the hospital staff who saved her
- Sidney Good and her friend Alexis Fairchild both suffered broken bones and brain trauma after the accident in Florida last July
- The parasail snapped off its boat and sent them crashing into a condo
- On Tuesday - a year after the accident - she returned to the hospital for an emotional reunion with the team who brought her back to life
- She suffered brain damage but walked at her graduation last month
- The NTSB has called for regulation of the parasailing industry
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An Indiana teenager who smashed into a condo during a terrifying para-sailing accident last summer has reunited with the hospital staff who saved her life a year since the incident.
Sidney Good, 18, was left in critical condition with friend Alexis Fairchild on July 1, 2013 when their parasail snapped free from its boat in Panama City, Florida, leaving the girls soaring through the air.
In an ordeal that was captured on camera by horrified holidaymakers, the girls left to the mercy of the wind and thrown against the 13th floor of a condominium before crashing in a parking lot.
On Tuesday, Good returned to the Bay Medical Center where staff had coaxed her back to life after she suffered from cracked vertebrae and severe brain trauma, ABC News reported.
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Thankful: Sidney Good became emotional as she reunited with hospital staff who coaxed her back to life last summer after she suffered devastating injuries in a freak parasailing accident
Saviors: She could not recall many of the team due to her brain damage but remembered one doctor, Rebecca Hysong (pictured left), who had promised her she would walk again
She became emotional as she saw the doctors and nurses again, although her brain damage meant that she could not remember them.
'It just like… it upsets me,' Good said as she wiped away her tears, with her family by her side. 'I was dying, and these people saved me.'
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ShareGood's mother Amy said the doctors hadn't been sure how successful her recovery would be.
'We didn’t know if she could walk or talk,' Amy Good said. 'They told us she may not remember.'
But both girls, who are no longer as close as they were, impressed their medical staff and families when they walked on stage during the graduation at Huntington North High School on June 6.
Life-changing: Sidney Good poses alongside her friend Alexis Fairchild before the parasailing accident in July 2013, which left both girls with grain damage. Both girls have now reached a settlement in their lawsuit
Terrifying: The girls' parasail snapped off and sent them into a condo before they crashed to the ground
Crash: After smashing into the condo, the girls crashed down on this car. They both suffered brain damage
Battle: Good, pictured in hospital, suffered spinal injuries and doctors did not know if she would walk again
But although they were on their feet, they still struggle every day with the aftermath of the incident.
'Both girls have brain damage,' Good's lawyer, Wes Pittman, told WJHG. 'One reads at a 5th to 6th grade level even though they have both graduated from high school. The other one reads at a third to fourth grade level.'
He went on: 'Both have serious orthopedic injuries, spinal surgeries with more coming, titanium plates and screws because of the multiple facial fractures. Her optic nerves were damaged and she sees only right down the center of what you're looking at between my two hands right now.'
Attorneys for the girls claim that the parasailing company was negligent for taking the girls out during dangerous weather and for driving the boat too close to the shore with unsafe equipment.
The girls became detached from the boat when their boat dropped anchor due to unusually high and dangerous winds and their line snapped.
Fighting back: Good, pictured in May, returned home to Indiana and has fought to regain her abilities
Celebration: She is pictured walking across stage during her high school graduation in early June
Milestone: Good, pictured left at graduation, credits the hospital staff with saving her life last year
They underwent multiple operations for their injuries, and Alexis was eventually able to leave Bay Medical Center in Panama City, Florida in mid-July while Sidney remained for a further week.
Both girls then returned home to Huntington, Indiana, where they have continued to undergo treatment as out patients.
A new National Transportation Safety Board report has also criticized the parasailing industry, accusing operators of 'poor judgment, lack of sufficient experience [and] proper training'.
'Passengers seeking to enjoy the thrill, adventure and panoramic views of parasailing risk becoming accident victims,' the NTSB report said. 'Due to the nature of parasailing, accidents usually result in either serious injury or death.'
There are no federal guidelines regulating parasailing and now the NTSB is recommended that all operators are licensed by the Coast Guard.
Road to recovery: Fairchild, pictured after returning home to Indiana, also requires more treatments
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