'God's hand caught her': Family of a girl, 16, who survived a 3500 foot skydive with a tangled parachute say it's a miracle she's alive



A 16-year-old Texas girl's lifelong dream to go skydiving became a nightmare Saturday when her parachute failed and she smashed into the ground from 3,500 feet.



Makenzie Wethington was slated to parachute down alongside her father Joe as a sweet 16 present, only her chute never opened.



Instead, the sophomore had to bear the brunt of the over half-mile fall. And miraculously, she survived.

In God's hands: 16-year-old Makenzie Wethington was thrilled as she neared fulfilling a live-long dream of skydiving (left) but her dream became a nightmare after her parachute apparently failed to open on Saturday. She miraculously survived the 3500 foot drop and is in intensive care (right)



'God's hand caught her,' Makenzie's older sister Meagan told KDFW.



Things looked grim after the jump but the teen exuded joy and excitement beforehand.



Makenzie and her father were there to fulfill her dream to go skydiving.



Most states require jumpers be 18, but in Oklahoma you can jump at 16.



'You can be 16 with a parent consent. My dad is jumping with me,' Makenzie tweeted leading up to her perilous fall.

Not so sweet: Makenzie was with her dad Joe, who took her to Oklahoma to skydive for her 16th birthday

In most places and in Texas where the Wethingtons live, you must be 18-years-old to skydive. To get around the rule, the father and daughter drove to Oklahoma, where 16-year-old Makenzie could jump with her father's consent







It was one of many ecstatic dispatches she'd send out Friday.



Makenzie's dad jumped first and Makenzie followed thereafter.



Another man decided he didn't want to do it and the instructor who'd only just done a six hour training session with the Wethingtons reportedly stayed behind.

Joe Wethington landed safely on the ground and watched helplessly as his daughter spiraled down, her parachute apparently jammed.



'My dad said that the guy on the ground was talking to [my sister] through the radio,' Meagan told NBCDFW.com. 'They had a radio in their ears. And my dad just heard him keep saying, "Reach up. Pull the chute out. Reach up. Pull the chute out. You need to calm down, calm down."'

'She's still alive and really she shouldn't be': Makenzie's sister Meagan (right with Makenzie at left) says her sister's survival is nothing short of a miracle

The family believes Makenzie must have panicked and it kept her from fixing her chute or engaging the backup. She was rushed to an Oklahoma City hospital.



'Her vertebrae broke in half,' Meagan said. 'Her pelvic bone completely split in half. She has more broken bones in her back. She has two broken ribs…her teeth.'

Oklahoma Bound!

— Makenzie Wethington (@WethingMakenzie) January 25, 2014

@Shelby_doran Thanks girl! I'll tell you when I'm in the ground again!

— Makenzie Wethington (@WethingMakenzie) January 25, 2014

Makenzie also had serious internal injuries including bleeding in her brain, lungs and liver according to a Facebook account the family set up to keep loved ones updated on Makenzie's well-being.



She was on a breathing machine at first. But miraculously, after two days, she improved enough to start breathing on her own.



Meagan says her sister is able to wiggle her toes and can even speak a little.

Survivor: According to Meagan, Makenzie has several broken vertebrae, a shattered pelvis, smashed teeth and serious internal bleeding. She was on a breathing machine, but miraculously she was breathing on her own after two days

'She honestly keeps saying is, she just thinks it was her fault, because she couldn't reach up and pull the shoot,' said Meagan.



Who's fault it is remained unclear Monday.



Makenzie jumped with her father's consent, but more often than not a jumper's first skydive is done tandem--that is, while strapped to the back of a more seasoned jumper.



But Pegasus Air Sports Center allowed the 16-year-old to jump alone and have yet to comment.



According to KVUE, the family is hiring a lawyer in order to sort out the legal details of her near death experience.



In the mean time, Makenzie has a long time left to heal and the end to her hospital stay is nowhere in sight. But that's not what her family is focused on.

