An Australian thrill-seeker's bid for a cliff-diving world record ended in major injuries but an unbroken spirit. Vali Graham, 21, attempted to break the døds—or "death diving"—record by leaping from the 140-foot Minnehaha Falls in the Blue Mountains, ABC Australia reports. There's footage of Graham throwing himself off the cliff face, freefalling for a few seconds, then hitting the waterhole below in a pike position. That knocked him unconscious and left him with a burst eardrum and fractured vertebrae, sternum, and skull. After regaining consciousness, Graham dragged himself out of the water and walked three-quarters of a mile to his friends' car.
Graham, of Newcastle, later posted updates from his hospital bed. He's had surgery on his back and sternum and said he was walking just two days after the procedure. His posts expressed gratitude to "God" and his family and friends for their help with his recovery, calling the ordeal a "gift of suffering." He added that he's "ready to rebuild my body better than ever and come back stronger, a long way to go but excited for the journey." Some people who responded to the posts marveled at Graham's ability to walk so soon.
Others were critical of his choices and for leaving the medical staff out of his thanks. "God didn't give you that suffering, you did that yourself," one person posted. "Lots of thanking god but not the humans that actually operated on you," another wrote. Others found the sport in pursuit of world records too dangerous. One user told Graham that he'd jumped from the height of a 13-story building, "and now my taxes have to pay for your dumb choices."
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
