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New heights: First skydiving, now hot air balloon for 90-year-old double amputee

Posted at 4:38 PM, Jul 05, 2019
and last updated 2019-07-05 18:38:28-04

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    GLADSTONE, Ore. (KPTV) — Edna Christiansen is obviously not afraid of heights.

Christiansen celebrated her 90th birthday this year by jumping out of an airplane. To follow that up, she took a hot air balloon ride on the fifth of July.

FOX 12 was there as she went up in the balloon on Friday morning.

Christiansen lives at Somerset Retirement Home in Gladstone. She’s widowed and lost both of her legs several years ago. She’s also got a radiant smile and laugh, and enjoys a good adventure.

After previously jumping out of a plane, Christiansen was enjoying the view from the hot air balloon Friday, but she couldn’t help but note the difference between her two adventures in the air.

“Very smooth,” she said of the hot air balloon ride. “It’s different than I imagined really. But 1,000 feet, that’s not very high.”

The hot air balloon was 1,000 feet in the air. The plane she jumped out of was at 14,000 feet.

“That was really quick,” she said of her skydiving trip. “You jump out and you’re down in five minutes. This is a different kind of ride.”

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