Man Breaks Leg Helping Daughter Overcome Fear Of Heights

[matcom]

<snip>

LANTANA — A man and his 10-year-old daughter were on an evening bike ride when he suggested they jump off the Lantana Bridge and into the Intracoastal Waterway.

The nervous little girl agreed and at 7:40 p.m. Monday, Troy Stewart, 31, grabbed his daughter's hand, counted to three and jumped nearly 20 feet into the water. Megan Stewart was not hurt, but her father broke his left leg when he hit the bottom.



Richard Graulich/The Post

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Megan Stewart, 10, jumped off the Lantana Bridge with her dad, Troy. Police say he thought he could break her fear of heights. He was not charged.

"He thought he could break her fear of heights by doing that. Instead he broke his leg," said Lantana Police Capt. Andy Rundle. "I wouldn't consider this an appropriate method of trying to break your kid of a phobia. Considering he got hurt, she could've just as easily got hurt."

They had to swim about 50 feet to shore, and Megan ran two blocks home to get her mother, Mandy Potter. Potter ran to the shore and called for an ambulance to take Stewart to JFK Medical Center.

Police did not file charges against Stewart and saw no signs of abuse, but officers called the Department of Children and Families hot line Monday night. Abuse investigators visited Potter Tuesday while Stewart was still in the hospital.

Megan said that she was hesitant to jump at first, but not afraid. She said they did it to be adventurous.

"At first, I was like, oh, my God, it's high. When I jumped I was laughing. I'm like, let's do it again," she said. Her father told her to hold her feet up so her bottom would hit the sand, but he dropped one of his feet. At 4-feet-4, Megan was able to stand up in the water after she landed.

That's when she realized her dad was injured. It was the third time he broke his leg, Potter said. The first time was in a motorcycle accident. The second time was a three-wheeler accident. He's an ironworker who is sometimes suspended 200 feet in the air.

Megan said the only one in the family who's afraid of heights is her mother.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/pbccentral/content/local_news/epaper/2006/09/13/s1b_BRIDGE_0913.html

[underpants]

1. Gravity- a weak but relentless force

You take care of the OUT it will take care of the DOWN