{"id":23447,"date":"2020-03-17T14:45:11","date_gmt":"2020-03-17T14:45:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/?p=23447"},"modified":"2020-03-19T11:59:21","modified_gmt":"2020-03-19T11:59:21","slug":"catching-up-with-lonnie-bissonnette","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/catching-up-with-lonnie-bissonnette\/","title":{"rendered":"Catching up with\u2026 Lonnie Bissonnette"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When life wants to crush you and you refuse to get crushed…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Lonnie at the 2017 Para Bobsled World Cup,
photo by Girts Kehris <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some would say Lonnie needs no introduction in our community. An extreme sports Canadian athlete, Lonnie was a skydiver and an avid base jumper until 2004 when a tragic base accident left him paralysed. <\/h4>\n\n\n\n

He was doing a special jump from Perrine Bridge in Twin Falls, Idaho for his 1100th base jump. Things went wrong, as they sometimes do in a sport where the price for small mistakes can be incredibly high and Lonnie was paralysed from the chest down. He recovered as much as possible and he started his new life in a wheelchair hearing all the time doctors and others say “You will never jump again”. Well… the man proved a bit stubborn, to say the least.  <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

His story after the accident is a tale of victory of the human spirit. His latest feat happened some weeks ago when he won the Para-Bobsleigh World Cup for the fourth time… We were very happy Lonnie found the time to talk with us…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Wheelchair BASE jump off the tallest bridge in the world at that time
for its grand opening ceremony, China, 2012 <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How many jumps did you have before the accident? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

My accident happened on my 1,100th BASE jump. At the time I also had about 1,600 skydives
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Why did you decide to go back and jump from the Perrine Bridge 10 years after the accident?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

From the moment I woke up out of intensive care I said I would go back to the bridge when the time was right. After talking with a friend one day that it had been more than 9 years it just clicked in my head! I thought what better way\/time to go back! I could celebrate my 10-year anniversary by going back and slaying the dragon. So I started making plans to go back and jump it exactly 10 years to the day!
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The time felt right… to be able to do that jump, look back up at the bridge and say: “Screw you! You didn’t get me! I’m still here!””<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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