Employees and patients with the Amputee and Prosthetic Center of Houston pose for pictures before several skydived at Skydive Spaceland in Rosharon on Saturday.

ROSHARON — Before Jody Wallace lost her leg because of a car accident in 2002, she had tried skydiving. So when an employee of the Amputee and Prosthetic Center of Houston challenged her to try it again, she didn’t hesitate.

“I always wanted to do it again and wasn’t going to let me losing a limb stop me,” said Wallace, a 27-year-old Pearland resident.

She also got others to join her.

About six amputees suited up Saturday at Skydive Spaceland, near Rosharon, ready for the ride of their lives at the first Airborne Amputee Skydiving Event hosted by the Amputee and Prosthetic Center of Houston.

“We want to show other amputees that you can do whatever you put your mind to and that life doesn’t end when you lose a limb,” Wallace said.

About 30 amputees initially were scheduled to jump, but some canceled after hearing about a death at Skydive Spaceland this week, said Joe Sansone, the center’s chief executive officer.

The body of Scott Bell, an employee of Skydive Spaceland, was found Friday in a nearby field after his parachute apparently failed to open during a jump Wednesday. Brazoria County authorities believe he died on impact after the reserve parachute malfunctioned and failed to open, but are awaiting Galveston County Medical Examiner’s Office autopsy results to determine the official cause of death.

However, fear was not even an option to the amputees who took part because of their strong determination to motivate others.

The center, which has six locations in Houston, provides artificial limbs to amputees, Sansone said. It also has seven amputees on staff who serve as peer visitors for recent amputees to answer questions and help them through their hardships, he said.

“We try to get more involved,” he said. “It is a huge, life-changing experience and usually it happens all of a sudden and they have questions, so we offer them our guidance.”

It was the second time World War II veteran Fred Winter, 89, has gone skydiving since he lost his leg at age 64 in a quail-hunting accident.

Winter said he jumps to motivate soldiers who have lost limbs in battle and those older than 60 who have lost limbs from diabetes.

“I want to give back, and I can do that by jumping and showing that life goes on,” Winter said. “All I have to say is ‘happy landing.’”

Taking the group higher than anyone could see, onlookers waited in anticipation of their return. Then slowly in the distance, each one reappeared as their parachutes opened and screams of joy could be heard as they made their landings.

“This is awesome — I wish I had done it sooner,” said 36-year-old Richard Lockley, a Wharton resident. “I’m ready to go again.”

Lockley lost his right leg after battling bone cancer for years, he said. He wasn’t scared before his jump, though, because everything he does is extreme, Lockley said.

“I work on a cattle ranch,” he said. “That’s extreme.”

Charlene Lindsey receives some final instructions Saturday before skydiving at Skydive Spaceland in Rosharon. Lindsey was among several amputees skydiving at the event which was sponsored by the Amputee and Prosthetic Center of Houston.

As Houston resident Charlene Lindsey landed, she shouted out, “This was great — I think I could do this again.”

Lindsey had to have her leg removed after developing an infection from surgery on her broken ankle, she said.

“This is making a statement and showing it’s not the end for amputees,” Lindsey said.

Though she has lost her leg, she wants to remain active, she said. Besides skydiving, she recently went bowling with her grandchildren.

Cypress resident Wendy Ledbetter, 30, heard about the event through a friend and decided she wanted to jump also, she said.

“This is small compared to all I’ve been through and conquered,” Ledbetter said.

Ledbetter said the jump out of the plane was awful, but flying through the air was the greatest experience of her life.

For Wallace, Saturday’s jump was even better than her first, she said.

Jason Smith is a reporter for The Facts. Contact him at (979) 237-0150.