Wisnierska suddenly experienced a very strong lift.
She tried to descend by making a spirala paragliding maneuverand by pulling down on the lines of the paraglider.
When neither strategy worked, she realized that she was being sucked up and lifted inside a dense cloud.
Oh my god, I said to myself.
This cant be possible.
I began thinking about my parents and telling myself, I have to come back.
I have to land safely.
Dying is not an option.
I knew I could not do that to my parents.
I kept telling myself not to panic.
Im not religious, but Ive always believed in some higher power.
So I started praying while the lightning flashed around me, and I kept climbing higher.
I told myself, Im in the hands of God now.
At some point, I remember feeling really tired, and thats when I lost consciousness and passed out.
I began thinking about my parents and telling myself, I have to come back.
I have to land safely.
Wisnierska was safer than before, but that didnt mean she was out of danger.
Wearing a T-shirt and a light jacket, theathletewas enduring extreme cold at such a high altitude.
Her equipment was also covered in ice.
Image credits:Kassandre Pedro
It was so cold, probably around minus 55 degrees [-67 Fahrenheit].
You cannot imagine this cold.
It was the most horrible thing I had ever felt.
I had no idea where I was.
This time, the air had become calmer, and the maneuver worked.
I felt like I was on the Apollo 13 coming back, coming home.
I was desperately looking for a road or a farm where I could land.
When she landed, she couldnt feel her fingers, and her ears were completely frozen.
Her radio was broken, but her phone wasnt.
She got a call from one of her team members, and she texted him her GPS coordinates.
Seeing the Earth again was such a beautiful moment.
Other than some frostbite, which eventually went away, everything was fine.
As Wisnierska toldPeople Magazine, she still flies for pleasure but has stopped participating in paragliding competitions.
Wisnierska is reminded of her accident (and her fortune) every time she takes aplaneride.
She looks out the window and thinks, Were high, but not as high as I was.
The athletes story was told in the documentaryMiracle in the Stormproduced by ABC1 and France5.
Released in 2010, the film won Best Cinematography in a Documentary at the 2010 Australian Film Institute Awards.
