On Sunday, April 30, Orange County resident Tyler Langenfeld suffered a devastating paragliding accident. Lagenfeld was learning to paraglide out of a teaching facility in Torrey Pines. He was paragliding in an area near Palomar Mountain in San Diego county when he had a sudden loss of air in his kite and fell more than 30 feet, crashing to the ground. Langenfeld was unable to prepare for the fall and correct the failure because he was too close to the ground to make the necessary adjustment, so when he hit the ground, he sustained multiple, severe injuries including multiple fractures in his right leg, left ankle and foot and most of the vertebrae in his spine including his tail bone. The instructor contacted emergency services and they airlifted Tyler to Palomar Medical Center in Escondido, where he is now awaiting the next major surgery.
In an email from his sister, Roberta Annis, she said that Lagenfeld has always been an adventurer and loves being outdoors: camping, hiking, and rock climbing. She adds that he is currently in tremendous pain, heavily sedated, and fighting for his life. His injuries are serious and the road to recovery is going to be very painful and long (possibly an entire year). The next big hurdle is the 12-hour spine surgery. After being unemployed, Lagenfeld “was finally happy to start working at a full-time job he really liked, but he was still in the probationary phase of his job when this horrific accident occurred last Sunday,” said Annis. “This means he does not have insurance through his new job. Tyler does have some coverage through the ACA but it is quite limited, and considering the neurosurgeon said it is unlikely Tyler will be able to work again, he has no other options for medical coverage. In addition, Tyler’s wife, Arleen, works two part-time jobs which offer no health insurance.”
The family is reaching out for donations, and any and all donations received will go towards medical expenses and other necessary living expenses. In order to aide in these expenses, the family has created a GoFundMe account. To donate, visit www.gofundme.com/bbm98-support-for-tyler