Philippe Croizon is a survivor. In 1994, while repairing the TV antenna on the roof of his house, he was struck by a violent electric shock. The metallurgical worker was struck by lightning, had a heart attack, and was revived by a second shock. At that time, his wife Muriel was expecting their second child. Philippe Croizon spent three months hospitalized at the burns center of the CHU de Tours, where he had to undergo the amputation of all four limbs. After two years of rehabilitation, he regained the ability to walk and drive, before embarking on a new life marked by extraordinary sporting achievements.
Why does Philippe Croizon feel like he was born at the same time as his second son?
His will to live was notably drawn from his children. Speaking on Bernard Montiel’s show “1 hour with…” on RFM, the man who swam across the English Channel reminisced about a crucial moment: the birth of his second son. “You should know that when I woke up from the coma, after two months, Gregory, my second son, was born at the same time as me. We now share the same date of birth, because it’s a new life beginning for me,” he revealed.
Still in a sterile hospital room, Philippe Croizon learned of his child’s birth through his father. Then, a family member found the words that helped him find the strength to fight. “And then, my father rushed to Châtellerault, took a picture of the baby, went to Tours, put the photo on the sterile glass, and said: ‘Your son is here.’ And then, I cry, and that’s when my ex-wife’s uncle arrives and gives me this phrase that will bring me back to life, he says: ‘Don’t you think it would be good for you to be there to guide your two sons on the path of life?’ And that’s the shock, this time virtual, and I wake up, and I say to myself: ok, I’m going to fight, I’m going to give it my all,” he recounted.
Who is Philippe Croizon in a relationship with?
In 2001, his wife Muriel asked for a divorce, a difficult ordeal for him. A few years later, he found love through a dating app, where he met Suzana Sabino, his current partner. “What impressed me was that the first time we stood next to each other, she took my most injured arm, she caressed it and gave it a kiss (…) She tamed my body. It’s extremely violent, we’re scared,” he shared with Jordan de Luxe.
Fueled by this love and extraordinary determination, Philippe Croizon has achieved numerous feats: swimming across the English Channel in 2010, diving records, participating in the Dakar Rally… Today, he shares his journey through conferences, to convey a message of hope and self-transcendence.
