Stockton woman, 71, has air ambulance tattoo in honour of rescue

Sue said although she is 71 years old, she still feels youthful

A woman whose life was saved by the Great North Air Ambulance has had the charity's logo tattooed on her back.

Sue Wilkinson, 71, from Stockton, County Durham, had a cardiac arrest in 2021, shortly after feeling unwell while having coffee with friends.

The retired civil servant, who spent a week in hospital, wanted to commemorate being "brought back to life".

Mrs Wilkinson said she still felt like an 18-year-old and decided to get inked at a local tattoo parlour.

"I wanted to celebrate two years since having my life back," she said.

"It was funny really, walking into the tattoo shop full of young people who were probably thinking, who is this granny with her walking stick?"

The tattoo commemorates the date Sue Wilkinson was "brought back from the brink of death"

Last week marked the second anniversary since Mrs Wilkinson spent six days in Middlesbrough's James Cook hospital after she wa,s placed in an induced coma by the air ambulance crew.

Her condition had worsened quickly and her heart stopped beating when she arrived home from a shopping trip with friends.

She said she had initially felt unwell but tried to forget about it.

"I had said to the girls that I had a lot of pain between my shoulder blades - but we're always moaning about pain, so it got left at that and then we wandered around Primark."

She has since made a full recovery and now regularly volunteers at the Great North East Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS) base in Eaglescliffe.

Known locally as the "corned beef pie lady" in recognition of her baking, she keeps the team supplied with her homemade pies and sausage rolls.

"I wake up happy every single day because I'm alive and that's because of GNAAS," she said.