83-year-old veteran skydives in Seagraves after recovering from heart attacks

LUBBOCK, Texas — As 83-year-old veteran, Tommy Townsend, flew through the air, all he could do was smile. Jumping out of planes was nothing new to him after serving in the military for 26 years, but he hadn’t been able to do it for a while since suffering from about four heart attacks.

Townsend decided he wanted to continue to defy the odds by making his second-ever skydive at the Seagraves airport.

“Oh, it’s a thrill,” Townsend said about the jump. “It’s beautiful. It’s nice. Quick … I recommend everyone should do it.”

Townsend got the go-ahead from his cardiologist to skydive after recovering from his heart attacks and getting a CardioMEMS , so doctors could keep track of the activity in the veteran’s heart. Abbot Laboratories told Townsend he was the first person to go skydiving with the device in his heart.

I’ve been good. They call me when there’s anything wrong. But with CardioMEMS I feel a lot better. I’m not afraid to do things,” Townsend said. “Everything’s better. Cardiologist said, ‘Go jump out of an airplane.’ So here I am.”

For Townsend, skydiving is relatively simple. He is used to jumping out of all kinds of aircrafts after being drafted at the age of 24 and serving in Vietnam as part of the XVIII Airborne Corps. He was a paratrooper and quickly rose in the ranks to Lieutenant Colonel, serving in the special forces, where he retired 26 years later.

His hundreds of airborne jumps in the military were never at 10,000 ft., but he still felt confident about doing it.

“There’s nothing to it. You step out the door,” Townsend said.

Townsend did the jump with SkyDive West Texas , who’s offering $25 off customers’ first skydive if they mention that they’ve seen Townsend’s story.

When Townsend’s feet touched the ground, he was all ready to go again and had plans to skydive for his upcoming 84th birthday.

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