David Blaine: Frozen in Time Journal

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Day 1 (November 27, 2000)

David was put in the ice at 9:00 a.m. live on Good Morning America. There were five cameras you could have watched him at on the davidblaine.com webcam. At 11:45 p.m. David takes a shirt he had tied around his waste and puts it on. His actions cause two wires monitoring his vital signs to come free.

Day 2 (November 28, 2000)

At 3:00 a.m., the ice melts at about 3 gallons an hour because of the November heat. They may have added up to 10 blocks extra to prevent the whole thing from melting. By 9:30 a chainsaw cuts around it the whole thing to balance weight distribution. At 10:00 a.m. David successfully reattaches his heart monitor lead with the help of his workers. Sometime around  noon, David is said to be drinking more than usual, indicating he could be fighting dehydration. At 4:40 they remove and switch cameras to fix another weight problem. 

Groups of people have stopped by to say hello and cheer him on, including celebrities, super models, and even a bus full of topless women! He answered tons of questions with a nod or a shake that users asked him online.

Day 3 (November 29, 2000)

The workers chiseled out the last of the ice creating a small hole. David is anxious to get out. He finally does by the help of his stage men. As the audience cheers him on, he is unable to walk on his swelled legs, and he has the look of shock. Blood clots are on the paramedics mind as he gives his girlfriend a kiss. A blanket is wrapped around him while "David... David... David..." is screeching in his ears. "Something's wrong!" he stutters. "My mind doesn't feel right from not sleeping." His feet give him pain from the three day stand. He's put on a stretcher and taken away to the ambulance. Simultaneously, David Blaine gives his fans one last smile.

Departure

After 61 hours, 40 minutes, and 15 seconds Mr. Magic Man David Blaine stayed in a block of ice Frozen in Time. He appeared Thursday, November 30, to Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America and later on Rosie O' Donnell from his bed in his Greenwich Village, New York, apartment via satellite. His ankles were visibly swollen in pain, but he managed to escape frostbite. 

"It was a nightmare," Blaine said. "When the ice closed around me, I was terrified, I thought, 'I can't do this, no way' After 24 hours, I was pretending I was a prisoner of war. It made me get through it a little bit better. But then I hallucinated, and that was it; I was in trouble. I thought I was dead. I was in this weird place, and I felt the cold ice. I could see Josie through the ice, but no one could hear me, not even when I was shouting."

"Tom Bramlett, the Ice Engineer, saw how agitated I was and told them to just cut me free with the chain saws. I didn't know if I was dead or alive. I thought my mind was gone. I didn't know what I was going to do for work. I thought the biggest disaster ever."

David thought his career was over and that he possible wouldn't walk again. His feet were swollen, he couldn't move his legs from the knees down, and he needed help to the bathroom. He was mesmerized to see himself on a recording. He told entertainment tonight: "It's weird. I'm really terrified and freaking out. I think I'm not going to make it, I'm telling my guys to get me out." So, why didn't that happen? "I ordered them not to."  Blaine claims his next few feats will be a little calmer and less dangerous. "I learned a lot." Such as? "I'll fight whatever they got."

Abolished Plan

After the "frozen alive", he said he will receive a shot on the chest, with nothing over it, fall on the ground, remove the bullet, and go away walking! Sound a little risky? Not to worry, he explains, “I’ve been working in the gym several hours a day, doing ancient Chinese exercises involving energy transferal through the muscles.” By strengthening his body and mind, he intends to “stop” the bullet with his body. The following year he hopes to be tied upside down off the side of a building 10 stories above a sidewalk.

David Blaine 3 and David Blaine: Frozen Alive were originally supposed to be different specials. As you may have figured out, the specials were put together in one live scary endurance test, David Blaine: Frozen in Time.

More

• Magic Directory: Frozen in Time