Waukesha Woman Celebrates Life, 'Burversary' With Skydiving Jump

WAUKESHA, WI — For Amber Fuller, the start of September will always be reason to celebrate life, but perhaps not for the reason many would expect.

The Waukesha woman sustained second- and third-degree burns to her body on Sept. 2, 2020, in an unprovoked attack while she was walking her dogs. So, on Thursday, the 31-year-old Fuller celebrated her “burnversary” by jumping out of a plane.

The skydiving adventure was an emotional, Fuller said in a video released by SkyDive Milwaukee, where Fuller marked the one-year anniversary of the day her life changed.

“I just want to celebrate life,” Fuller said in the video.

Fuller told Patch on Friday that she experienced a range of emotions, especially on the plane ride up to 14,000 feet. In that moment, she said everything she had endured over the past year hit her, but that it made what she was about to do even more meaningful.

"The last year, I don't think there has been a time that what happened hasn't been in the back of my mind," Fuller said in a telephone interview. "I kind of wanted an experience when it was just about me and I could be in the moment and just do something crazy."

Fuller sustained burns to her back, abdomen and right arm in the attack. Joel Murn, a 40-year-old Las Vegas man, pleaded no contest to charges including attempted first-degree intentional homicide, related to the attack and is scheduled to be sentenced in October.

Fuller recently told Patch that the anniversary of the attack has remained in the back of her mind for the past year and that she wanted to do something to move on from suffering the burns. The injuries she suffered kept her from venturing outside much during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. A Go FundMe effort last year raised nearly $58,000 to assist Fuller with her medical bills.

Fuller completed a tandem jump with an instructor while a videographer captured the entire free-fall. In that moment as she surveyed everything around her as she made her way back down to earth, Fuller said she could only focus on the rush of wind in her face and the thrill of what was happening to fully rush over her mind and body.

After landing safely on the ground, Fuller admitted that all she wanted to do was celebrate her jump by allowing the moment to sink in.

“I just want to lay down on the ground, “ she said.

Asked what her favorite part of the jump was, Fuller responded, “everything” and said she would do it again if given the chance.

"So much fun!! Would totally do it again. So glad I took the leap," Fuller wrote on Facebook on Thursday. "It was the first time in a long time I was only focused on myself and my happiness. The entire ride up, jump, and ride down I didn’t spend a single second thinking about the last year and the pain I have been through. Was so freeing and rewarding!"

Fuller said Friday she will use the video and photos collected from Thursday's jump as a constant reminder of what she has been through and the progress she has made since the attack that led her to this place.

Over the past year, Fuller has relied on therapy and other alternative healing methods to help her cope with the emotions that she still links to what happened to her last September. So when she experienced her "freeing" moment on Thursday, she experienced something that she will carry with her moving forward.

"I just wanted this to be a fun thing, a happy moment and there were some emotions, but I was glad I was able to focus on the positive and having fun," Fuller told Patch. "I'm glad that is something that will stick with me and having the pictures and the video is something that will make the milestone more happy."