It was October 30, 1977.  The young freshman at Texas A&M University was about to fulfill a dream he’d envisioned throughout his teenage years - David Slater was going skydiving. 

It started out normal.  A clear, fall afternoon in south-central Texas.  A cool breeze was blowing aloft, as David strapped on his double-chute pack, grabbed ahold of his instructor, peered out the open side-door of the small Cessna looking at the vast fields below from his 7,500 foot vantage point.

David jumped, and began an otherwise normal descent.  He pulled the rip-cord of his main chute at 4,500 feet, after about a 90-second free-fall.  All still normal.  The chute flew open without a hitch, and David retraced the typical 500-feet when chutes open.  Thrilling beyond description, especially to a brash college freshman.

David began a normal slow ride down, drifting gently to his left.  Then, almost suddenly,  stronger surface winds picked up, capturing David in their grip, forcing him  to the east.  David caught the power lines in his peripheral vision.  As the winds combined with his natural descent, it became obvious where this was headed.

David remembers every bit of it.  The lines so quickly approaching.  The wind.  The cool breeze blowing his hair.  The uncontrollable drift.  And the crash straight into the power lines.  For 25 seconds, 7,200 volts of raw electrical surge flowed through his body.  If that weren't enough, he then plunged 30-feet off the lines and onto the ground.

Fully conscious.  Fully fried.  And fully unable to move.  It would be 7 years and 25 surgeries before he would fully walk again.  And even then, with delicate instability.  A slight bump and he could topple.  Finally, at the age of 30, he felt normal again.

In the process, David finished his degree in Finance from A&M, and was selling medical supplies.  Hanging out in operating rooms and around surgeons, David gained the confidence that he could indeed do the same thing he saw the doctors doing.  So, he took 2 years to prepare, and was accepted to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School in Dallas.

From there, he found primary care to be more suitable than surgery, as he preferred to develop long-term relationships with his patients, and manage their overall health.

Today, Dr. David Slater has a full practice at TienaHealth, a large primary care group in Irving, Texas.  Dr. Slater specializes in helping his patients lose weight, and keep it off.  He encourages them in the vast health advantages that come through seeking and maintaining an optimum body weight.

Dr. Slater is developing a radio program to help patients around the country navigate what health care reform means for them.  He is working on 2 books - one on losing weight; the other on his life story of triumph after tragedy.

Dr. Slater lives in Irving, Texas with his wife and 2 daughters.