Just a day after losing her mother, a 70-year-old woman from Whittingham was rescued by the air ambulance services after a serious road accident.
Helen Dinsdale was visiting her pony Misty who was on a farm three miles from her Whittingham home, when she collided with a lorry on the A697.
The incident resulted in a fractured skull, head injuries, a broken ankle, sternum, pelvis, fingers, and several broken ribs.
She said: “I still give thanks every day for Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS). Without them, I would not have survived.
"The treatment I received at the roadside, and my swift airlift to hospital was indeed the difference between life and death.
“There is very little I can't manage to do that I want to do. I still enjoy short hill walks and looking after my garden. I have a great deal to be thankful for."
She was cut free from her car and given a blood transfusion by the medical team from GNAAS before being airlifted to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.
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