“Eye Ended Up by My Ear”- 49-Year-Old Chicago Hypnotherapist After Breaking 52 Bones in Skydiving Crash

Modern-day miracles are very much a real phenomenon. How else do you explain so many impressive injury comebacks across sports? Among the greatest comebacks ever was Shaun Livingston, who made his return after playing virtually no games for two seasons following tears to his ACL, lateral meniscus, and PCL. However, today’s story makes Livingston’s condition look like a vacation. That’s because Marina Kostina, who broke over 50 bones from skydiving last year, has survived and is now getting back to normal after over 10 surgeries.

Costina was convinced by her friend to give skydiving a shot. Eventually, the Moscow native caved and decided to set up a tandem jump on Father’s Day last year. However, things went out of control really quickly, and the 49-year-old just about managed to deploy her parachute 30 feet before landing.

Injuries from Skydiving Crash

Needless to say, Costina suffered gravely from the crash. She broke 52 bones and suffered nasty wounds to her face. Costina claimed she was left immobile from the accident and spent three and a half days “between death and life.” Costina woke up disoriented, with an unexpected heaviness, and realized that she could not move. Meanwhile, doctors said her “eye ended up by [her] ear” while her bones broke like “eggshells.”

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She was discharged a month later after multiple surgeries. However, her journey to recovery had only just begun. She now had new demons like PTSD, depression, and severe anxiety, including horrifying attacks of claustrophobia. To heal mentally, Kostina had to use tools she learned while teaching yoga, including self-hypnosis and visual techniques. Besides this, she kept her mind busy by studying Indian philosophy, completing online courses, cooking, and learning Italian and French.

However, despite what she learned, her journey was not easy. She reported feeling “severely lonely.” She said that she felt nobody could understand what she went through despite the fact that she had a great support system.

Costina Wants to Inspire

Last November, Costina had her 11th surgery. Doctors are currently working on refinement and beautification after her face was “completely destroyed” in the crash. They have already refashioned her nose using fragments from her head, rib, and ear. Costina wants her story to inspire people. She wants people to know that her survival need not be a once-in-a-blue-moon event and that if she can make it, so can anyone else.

While it will take a lot of mental and emotional strength for Sloan to return to completely normal, her story is nonetheless impressive already. From being on the brink of death for nearly four days to now living a fairly independent life, she has definitely come a long way. We can not be more impressed with what Costina has made out of her situation. She has detailed her entire journey from crash to date in the book “52 Pieces: A Manual of Light to Survive the Abyss of Trauma.” Here’s hoping her story can make other survivors feel less alone and more heard.

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