FAYETTEVILLE, WV (WVNS) – Some of the activities that make up Bridge Day are considered extreme sports, and one local nurse is setting out to take them on!
Schedule of events for Bridge Day in 2024 60-year-old Kathy James is a nurse living in Hurricane. She grew up in Oak Hill and was part of the Oak Hill High School Band that performed at the opening of the New River Gorge Bridge.
Since then, she has wanted to be one of the jumpers at Bridge Day.
The only thing that held her back was a painful bone deformity in her feet called bunions that plagued her for more than 10 years. Almost a year ago from the time James spoke to 59News in October, she underwent surgery.
Governor Justice celebrates growth and investment at the New River Gorge National Park and Preserve Her colleague, Dr. Douglas Dockery, performed the operation.
“It is called a lapiplasty, and he said it goes in and corrects the deformity instead of shaving the bone. The recovery time is a lot less and it was not very painful. So, that is what got me here today,” said James.
After a successful surgery, James plans to be part of the first jumpers to kick off Bridge Day 2024.
She will be participating as part of a tandem jump package that she purchased last year in 2023 while she was still unable to perform the jump. For her tandem jump, James will be partnered with an experienced BASE Jumper.
“I am just so thankful and blessed that I am able to do it! I am going to have a lot of people from work and family that is going to be here coaxing me on and cheering for me, and hopefully I won’t scream and make a fool of myself, but I don’t think so because I am so excited to do it,” said James.
James said this will be the first time she has ever done anything this extreme.
Time to jump for joy- the 45th annual Bridge Day is almost here She has never been skydiving or anything of the sort prior to Bridge Day on Saturday, October 19, 2024.
James will soon be celebrating her birthday along with the 1 year anniversary of her successful surgery as well, which makes Bridge Day the perfect place for her to celebrate her year of accomplishments.
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