A SKYDIVER who miraculously survived plummeting 12,000ft onto a parked van has told friends he expects his infant son will be walking before him.
Ben Cornick, 31, from Swansea, south Wales, is still recovering in hospital in Auckland, New Zealand, following his accident in Fiji.
The experienced skydiver crashed down into the van after losing control of a steering toggle on a specialist parachute during a "fun jump" on January 14.
He snapped his arm, broke his right thigh bone in three places and badly damaged his kneecaps.
Speaking to friends and supporters via a dedicated Facebook page, Mr Cornick, who hopes to return home for his son's first birthday in March, said: "I need to learn to walk again quick sharp, annoy the hell out of some friends here in New Zealand for a few weeks and then concentrate on getting back to my son, Alfie, who will probably be walking better than me by the time I get home."
While normally insured for personal injury on the job, family and friends say because he was jumping with his own equipment on his day off Mr Cornick has to pay his own medical bills.
His cousin Ricky Davies set up a Facebook page to help and, so far, friends and strangers have donated an estimated £35,000.
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