A STOCKTON woman is celebrating the four-year anniversary of the day she nearly died with a skydive, but with a twist.
Sue Wilkinson, 73, suffered a cardiac arrest back in July 2021 and has been marking her “death day anniversary” with a significant event ever since.
Two years ago, Sue made the headlines after getting a tattoo of the Great North Air Ambulance Service’s (GNAAS) logo on her back, in appreciation of the team who helped her save life.
GNAAS came to the aid of Sue after she returned home from a shopping trip with friends and felt unwell.
She rang 111 and informed the operator that she had a really bad pain between her shoulder blades, which led to a crew from the North East Ambulance Service being sent to her home to check her over.
Sue said: “They were taking a history when I said I think I am going to faint, and my heart stopped. They pulled me onto the floor and started CPR and I was unresponsive.
“They called another team out which was the CIPHER medical ambulance crew and continued CPR and then GNAAS came.”
The retired civil servant was placed in an induced coma on scene by the doctor and paramedic from GNAAS and taken to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough where she stayed for six days.
She has since reunited with the teams who helped her and signed up as a volunteer for GNAAS, who are entirely reliant on public donations.
She said: “I volunteer with GNAAS in any way I can help out. I give talks about my experience, I prepare packs for posting out to supporters, I do paperwork, and I share and repost information about GNAAS on Facebook.
“I think it is so important for people like me who have literally been brought back from the dead to let everyone know about the vital work of the air ambulance. Lives are saved every day thanks to the generous support of the public. The air ambulance is funded entirely by charitable donations and in these very hard times I am so pleased people keep donating. It’s the only way to keep the helicopter flying.”
To celebrate four years since needing the help of her local air ambulance, her latest “stunt” is a skydive in August at GNAAS’ first-ever charity skydive day.
However, due to health reasons, she won’t be physically jumping out of a plane herself, but instead her face will be on the t-shirt of one of the participants, called Scott Falconer.
Scott, 32, who lives in Stockton-on-Tees, enjoys hiking and is no stranger to crazy challenges, as he previously completed all 214 Wainwrights in less than a year to support mountain rescue teams.
He found out about the event, called Jump 4 GNAAS, from a friend, and after hearing about Sue’s ambition to skydive, he agreed to do it on her behalf.
The two recently met for the first time at GNAAS’ base near Eaglescliffe to get to know each other better and swap stories.
Sue said: “I was stumped with what to do this year as nothing can beat my tattoo. I’m planning to have an afternoon tea at my home the day before and then I’ll be there to watch the skydivers, including Scott, take part. It’ll be a great day.”
Scott added: “It was nice to finally meet Sue and put a face to the name as we’ve been messaging beforehand. As a hiker I’ve seen GNAAS working alongside mountain rescue teams to help others, so I know how important it is to support this incredible charity.
“I am pleased to do the sky dive in honour of Sue and I’m looking forward to it.”
Places are still available to take part in ‘Jump 4 GNAAS’, which is on Saturday 9 August at Sky-High Skydiving Durham. It costs just £50 per person and the minimum sponsorship is £450.
To support Scott and Sue’s fundraising visit their JustGiving page here.
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