Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Dundee stroke amputee Angie is back ‘walking on air’

The Wilkinson family
at the Scottish Gliding Centre.
The Wilkinson family at the Scottish Gliding Centre.

A Dundee woman defied the odds to take to the skies, just three years after suffering a serious stroke.

Angie Wilkinson, 56, has returned to her love of glider-flying thanks to the Scottish charity Walking on Air.

Before her stroke Angie and her husband David had always been very active.

They loved camping and being outdoors and used to fly gliders as a hobby, dating back to the time David was in the RAF.

When Angie had a stroke, it affected her ability to walk and talk. A few months later, she developed circulation problems and had to have her leg amputated.

She feared she would never again be able to do the things she loved.

Angie said: “After my stroke I felt limited to activities in the house.

“I just felt tired all the time and couldn’t get out and about easily.

“That was probably the thing that David and I found the hardest.

“We used to be so adventurous; I just didn’t feel like myself any more.”

Angie then met Darlene Drummond, rehabilitation support co-ordinator at Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland.

Darlene was determined to get Angie back airborne after finding out she loved to fly gliders.

Angie said: “Darlene was so helpful. She reminded me what life was like before my stroke and showed me that it was possible to get back to doing the things I loved.

“I never imagined I’d be able to fly again. It was absolutely amazing.

“I have so many happy memories with David spending the weekend flying gliders – it’s really special to have been able to do this again.

“I want to thank everyone at Walking on Air for being so helpful and allowing me to get back in the air again in their specially adapted glider.

“It was a moment I’ll never forget and I can’t thank Darlene enough for reminding me that it is possible to do the things I loved before my stroke. I can live my life to the full.”

Darlene said: “I am absolutely delighted that Angie has been able to get back to flying.

“It’s something which clearly brings her so much joy.

“Angie has been so determined and her confidence has grown so much since I first met her.

“She is the perfect example of no life half lived and a true inspiration to us all.”

Walking on Air utilises the facilities at the Scottish Gliding Centre in Scotlandwell to provide an opportunity for people with disabilities to be able to fly a modified glider