VIDEO: SoCal woman suffers traumatic injuries after parasailing rope breaks in Mexico

SAN DIEGO (KABC) -- A San Diego woman barely survived her 29th birthday when her parasail came plunging down to the ground in Mexico.

Katie Malone is finally home after a typical vacation activity turned into a nightmare.

She decided to go parasailing in Puerto Vallarta. The rope tethered to a boat somehow broke and she went flying through the air for 45 minutes.

Malone crash-landed and suffered a fractured skull, fractured pelvis, broken ribs, a collapsed lung and other injuries.

And to make matters worse, Malone did not have insurance. With her brain swelling, it was a true race against time to get her back to the states for treatment.

Luckily, former U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter and his son pitched in to pay for Malone's flight.

"Life Flight folks would not take off until they got some money, and they needed $18,900. So he and I sent them a personal guarantee," Hunter said.

Malone landed safely back in San Diego. Her entire family is now thanking the former congressman and the entire community for their support.

WPVI-TV contributed to this report.