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Wallenda sibling attempting world record wire walk
Kimberly Kuizon reports.
SARASOTA, Fla. - Overcoming what could have been a tragedy, the Wallenda family has proved to the world courage can overcome fear and any obstacle you face.
On Saturday, November 8, Nik Wallenda will be sharing the wire with his sister, Lijana, back in their hometown of Sarasota. They'll be attempting to break a world record, and it'll take place just a few hundred yards away from an accident in 2017 that left Lijana with life-threatening injuries.
What we know:
For the Wallenda family, walking the tight rope is embedded in their DNA.
"It is real when you are up there. It’s real risks and that fear does want to come in, and I must take captive of those thoughts and say no, I’ve done this so much. I am capable," said Lijana.
Nik Wallenda and his sister, Lijana Wallenda will attempt to break a world record at Sarasota's UTC. They'll attempt the highest and longest crisscross tightrope walk.
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"I've been training really, really hard. I sat down and stood up on the wire 15 times the other day just to make sure I had all the strength," said Lijana.
The backstory:
For Lijana, it's the first time she's performed back in Sarasota since 2017.
On February 8, 2017, Lijana and others fell to the ground as they were practicing an unprecedented eight-person pyramid trick on the high wire. Lijana was rushed to the hospital, where she said doctors told her dad they weren't sure if she would make it.
"I woke up days later in the trauma unit, with 72 plates and screws in my face. A trachea tube, feeding tube, my jaw was wired shut. It was dramatic. It was a traumatic thing to go through, but I just kept pushing and what a miracle," she told FOX 13.
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Lijana broke every bone in her face; she had a lacerated liver and several other broken bones, including her ribs.
"She fell over 35 feet to 36 feet above the ground. She shouldn’t be alive, but not only is she alive, but she’s back on the wire doing what she loves and what she is called to do," said Nik Wallenda.
What's next:
Two cables will be suspended in an "X" about 80 feet high over N. Cattleman Road at University Town Center. Nik and Lijana will cross paths midair as they help light UTC's 50-foot Christmas tree and welcome Santa's Grand Arrival Parade.
"We try to use everything we do, the good and the bad, as inspiration. You can use the bad events that happen in your life to destroy you, or you can allow them to destroy you, or you can use them to help others and that’s what we really have done as a family continuously for 200 years," said Nik.
The Wallenda's hope their experiences continue to inspire future generations in helping others to believe in themselves.
"I hope that what we do inspires people because what we do is seemingly impossible, and yet they can do what we can do if they put their heart to it and, mostly since the accident, I feel off the wire and I want to inspire people. Everybody has a wire they’ve fallen off of in life, but they can get back up," said Lijana.
The Wallenda's will perform their criss-cross skywalk at 6:00 p.m. On Saturday, November 8th at Sarasota's UTC.
On November 21st, Nik Wallenda's Wonderland Circus: Believe will start.
For tickets and more information, click here.
The Source: Information was gathered through FOX 13's Kimberly Kuizon from Nik Wallenda and his sister, Lijuana.