Dorothy: [00:00:00] Unbelievable news. Another Rose employee has jumped out of a perfectly good airplane. Roxann Hayford is a communications specialist. She’s an ace at putting sentences together and getting her message across, but on the day that she found herself 10,000 feet in the air and looking at the ground below barreling towards her, took her words away.
Now that she’s recovered, hear what she has to say about doing a tandem skydive. For Jump For The Rose.
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Roxann, what [00:01:00] made you jump out of a perfectly good airplane?
Roxann: Well, skydiving was always one of those bucket list ideas that I had, but never anything that I actively looked into or researched. But then when I joined the Rose, I saw a picture in our conference room of a team of skydivers. And then as I learned more about Jump for the Rose, I thought, Well, this is a perfect opportunity to do what I’ve always wanted to do, but it’s going to be bigger than me.
It’s going to be for a greater purpose. And that’s really what motivated me. to do Jump For The Rose and jump out of an airplane at 14,000 feet.
Dorothy: Okay. So you’ve, you’re on this plane and, and you’re doing a tandem jump. Let’s be sure our listeners know that we just didn’t push you out of the plane.
Roxann: No, I was safely clipped on.
Dorothy: Right. And, and you’re, you’re jumping about to jump out. Was that the scariest part or was there some other part of it that was scary?
Roxann: I’m [00:02:00] not sure if I was. scared. I don’t know if, um, you know, it was the altitude. I have no idea why I wasn’t terrified, but I really wasn’t when I initially jumped. Um, it’s definitely a very different feeling during that initial descent.
You know, you’re coming down at 120 miles an hour, and it’s a lot of wind and it’s cold. Um, you’re just really trying to get your bearings. Um, but then once you hit the 6000 ft and your parachute deploys, it’s just It was such an amazing feeling. It truly was magical, um, to, to gracefully float down to the earth.
That’s something I didn’t expect at all. I didn’t know what to expect, but I certainly didn’t think it was going to be. as graceful and as peaceful as it was. And did you pull the cord? We both, um, the instructor and I both had our hand on it. I’m not sure if I actually did. I, I’m going to say that I did, but she might have been the one to actually pull it because I was so distracted and [00:03:00] trying to figure things out.
Um, but I did try, I did go for it.
Dorothy: And, and while you were being prepped for all this, did you feel like you had enough instruction and enough, uh, guidance on how to hold your body? What to do?
Roxann: Oh yes, absolutely. Before the jump, there was a 20 minute, you know, video that you, you watch. We had an another instructor that was there to answer questions cause there were other people that were jumping as well that didn’t have any experience just like I didn’t.
So he was very patient with us and did answer every question about, like you said, you know, how you should position your body and. What different things we could anticipate once we were up there. So I, I felt comfortable with the instruction that we were given.
Dorothy: Yeah. And now you’ve already talked about how it felt when you pulled the cord and the parachute opened.
And was that the best part of it?
Roxann: The best part of it was floating.
Dorothy: Floating. Yeah. Yeah.
Roxann: Definitely floating to see the curve of the earth. [00:04:00] Um, how peaceful it was. Like I said, when you’re first coming down, it’s so loud and it, you know, you feel the pressure of the wind, but once you’re floating down, you can remove your goggles and you can actually have a conversation with your instructor, um, which is something that she and I did.
Um, It was very moving. It brought me to tears. I will admit I cried while I was up there, not because I was afraid. It was just so beautiful. And it just made me so, so grateful.
Dorothy: Of course, you were still on the job while you were coming down. Can you tell us about that?
Roxann: Yes. So, um, I had mentioned to the team before I went up that I was with the Rose and that, um, You know, this was part of Jump For The Rose and the instructor that I was with were coming down as I said, and you can have a conversation and she said, So what do you do for The Rose?
So I explained to her that I work in the marketing department. I help coordinate projects and she [00:05:00] said, Well, I’m due for my mammogram. Can I call The Rose? And I said, Sure, you can call The Rose. We have, you know, different teams that can help with different things. And she says, Well, but I don’t have insurance.
Is that a problem? And I said, No, that’s not a problem. We can help you regardless of your ability to pay. Just give our team a call. So yeah, I was I was on the clock. I was on the clock while I was doing that job, but I was glad to help and I was glad that she and I were the two that were together because she might not have asked that question if it would have been somebody else.
So I was glad that Okay. That that instructor was the one that I was paired with.
Dorothy: Yeah, no matter what falling out of the airplane. There you are doing your job Making sure women know about The Rose now tell the listeners just a little more about Jump For The Rose. It’s been going on 10, 12 years now?
Roxann: Yes, they’ve been a long standing partner of ours and Jump For The Rose was founded by a wonderful woman named Marian Sparks. It’s another non profit organization Um, and what they do is Every October they [00:06:00] coordinate a weekend of skydiving and fun and music and the proceeds from that event go towards the Roses Programs and Services to help women throughout Southeast Texas.
So it’s just a wonderful organization to partner with and as I mentioned, um, do a jump that was for more than just me.
Dorothy: Right, right. And, and they have, oh, funded 300, 000 plus over these years and that has gone a long ways to take care of the women that do not have insurance. So, one last thing. Would you encourage anyone else to do this?
Your family, your friends?
Roxann: I would encourage the adults in my family. I have two daughters and one of them right away said, Mama, I’ve got to jump out of a plane. And I said, hold on little one. But I definitely would. It’s, it’s a once in a lifetime experience and I enjoyed it. Felt safe, felt comfortable and it was, it was beautiful and it was exhilarating.
So yes, I would.
Dorothy: Well, thank you so much for being on the spot doing your job, [00:07:00] even when you’re falling out of an airplane. And if our listeners ever wondered what that day of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane sounds like, listen to Roxann’s original audio from her jump.
Skydive Instructor: Roxanne, how’s it going?
Roxann: Good, good.
Skydive Instructor: Excited?
Roxann: Yes, extremely.
Skydive Instructor: A little nervous?
Roxann: A little bit.
Skydive Instructor: First time, right?
Roxann: Yes.
Skydive Instructor: Why do you want to go skydiving?
Roxann: I want to skydive for The Rose. I want to skydive for breast cancer awareness month. I want to skydive for all of the patients. Uh, and I want to skydive for myself.
Skydive Instructor: Fantastic. All right. Did you bring anybody else with you?
Roxann: I did.
Skydive Instructor: Who’d you bring?
Roxann: I brought my family. I brought my two lovely daughters. I brought my husband.
Skydive Instructor: They’re going to be our cheerleaders on the ground. [00:08:00] There you go. Alright. Nice. So you know how high we’re going, right? 14, 000 is over 2. 5 miles straight up in the sky.
How fast are we going to be falling?
Roxann: I will be falling, flying 120 miles an hour,
Skydive Instructor: 120 miles an hour. You drive a Lamborghini that fast every day. What happens? 6000 ft.
Roxann: That’s what I’m going to pull on the golf ball and then hopefully that will. Well, not hopefully it will.
Skydive Instructor: It will open the parachute. That’s right. Awesome.
How are you gonna know when it gets to 6000 ft?
Roxann: Tapping.
Skydive Instructor: And what’s that thing on your wrist?
Roxann: This is my altime- altimeter.
Skydive Instructor: Yep. That’ll tell you, too, if you look at it.
Roxann: Yeah.
Skydive Instructor: Alright. Sounds like you’re ready to do this. Do you have anything to say for friends and family watching at home?
Roxann: I love you. I’m excited.
It’s gonna be awesome. And I’ll see y’all in a bit.
Skydive Instructor: Alright. You ready to have some fun?
Roxann: Yes.
Skydive Instructor: Let’s go! Woohoo! I[00:09:00]
Roxann: Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I did it!
Skydive Instructor: How was it?
Roxann: It’s incredible. Oh, I couldn’t, oh, it’s beautiful. It’s beautiful. It is beautiful. Oh my gosh. Thank you, Lord. Thank you. Thank you, Lord.
Skydive Instructor: Turn right. Turn right. We are looking for traffic. No traffic. Yeah. Woo! Okay, good job.
Roxann: Incredible. [00:10:00] Most incredible experience ever. Oh my gosh. Awesome.
Skydive Instructor: What was the best part?
Roxann: Uh, once we started gliding slowly that was my. That was my favorite part, just to look and see the view, and see above the clouds, I was above the, uh, above birds, it was just, it was incredible, it was amazing, it was just such a blessing, and, uh, I, I was overcome, I was just, I was crying, I was laughing, it was just, it was beautiful, beautiful, it was awesome.
Skydive Instructor: How did it feel when we were falling through the sky?
Roxann: Uh, when we were going fast, it was like, What was I thinking? What decision did I make? But then, like I said, once we were kind of floating, it was just, it was magical. It really was.
Skydive Instructor: Quite a view up there, huh?
Roxann: Yeah, absolutely.
Skydive Instructor: It’s nice we can see the gulf today.
Roxann: Oh, yeah.
Skydive Instructor: What did you think of your Freelance Instructor Eren?
Roxann: I thought she was awesome! She made me feel so comfortable. It was great.
Skydive Instructor: Let’s get together and we’ll get a picture. Here we go. 1, 2, 3. 1, 2, 3. So you think you’re gonna come back and skydive again?
Roxann: Oh, maybe. We’ll see.
Skydive Instructor: Alright. , what do you wanna tell your [00:11:00] friends
and family home about skydiving?
Roxann: I wanna tell them it’s awesome. It it’s, it’s exhilarating. It’s thrilling. Uh, but it’s beautiful and, but. Really makes you, um, really makes you grateful somehow.
Skydive Instructor: All right. You did a fantastic job up there. We hope to get in real soon. Thank you, Scott. Have a seat.
Roxann: Thank you.
Dorothy: So that wraps it up for today. And don’t forget, we’re doing a episode every single day.
You’re going to get your daily dose of let’s talk about your breasts during the month of October.
Post-Credits: October is the month of pink and for the rose, a breast center. That means we’ll be airing podcasts every day in October to celebrate Breast Cancer Awareness Month. We’ll be sharing everything from men who have had breast cancer to what happens when you are pregnant and diagnosed with cancer. Be sure to share with family and friends because there’s a little something for everyone. To find out ways to help The Rose, visit our website at therose.org. Remember, self care is not selfish. It’s essential.[00:12:00]
