Military Tattoo bagpipe surprise brings Edinburgh tattooist with incurable brain tumour to tears
A birthday to remember for Edinburgh tattoo artist Noemi
When tattooist Noemi Sorrentino told one of her customers who was working at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo she had never seen the famous show despite living in the city for over 16 years, her customer insisted on getting her tickets.
The show happened to fall on the same night as her 37th birthday meal, which Noemi enjoyed with her two sons, Vincent, 13, and Leon, eight. But Noemi’s hectic life running Watermelon Tattoo Studio in Abbeyhill meant the trio didn’t have time to cut the cake.
Little did Noemi know that there was an even bigger surprise awaiting her when she finally met her partner Sandie Tweedie on the castle ramparts, with the family having been offered a backstage tour.
It was the first of many surprises for the Edinburgh mum, who has battled with an incurable brain tumour for the past three years.
“It was already, for me, really nice that I was crying and then at some point she turned to me and said ‘today is Noemi’s birthday and we want to tell you happy birthday’,” she said.
Rows of kilt-clad pipers erupted in a bagpipe rendition of “happy birthday”, which the tattooist admitted brought a tear to her eye.
She said: “It was amazing, really, I didn’t expect that at all and really the sound of all those bagpipes was amazing, listening to that and very emotional.
“Especially in the circumstances I’m living in right now with the brain tumour, it was very emotional and something that will happen so easily to anyone so I was really thankful for that moment.”
Milan-born Ms Sorrentino first noticed the symptoms of the incurable brain tumour that had developed on her temporal lobe three years ago, just as she and her partner were about to open their East Norton Place studio.
Her moods would change so drastically that the GP suggested it might be bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.
She added: “A few times the police had been called at home so I thought I was going crazy so I wanted to have an explanation of what was happening to me.
“But once I had my first seizure we phoned the ambulance and they were saying that there was nothing to be worried about, there was just a fainting attack.”
MRI scans in Italy discovered a Grade 2 astrocytoma, a slow growing tumour that cannot be cured by surgery and radiation therapy.
Ms Sorrentino received surgery from one of Milan’s top neurosurgeons and continued with radiation and chemotherapy back in Scotland.
“It was a big shock but at least I knew why all of that was going on and what to do next,” she said.
But the dangers of battling an incurable tumour are not lost on Noemi, who said the thought of losing everything - including her children - is “quite sad and makes me cry”.
She said: “At the end of the day we should wake up in the morning think I’m grateful to be alive, I’m grateful to not have any disease or [be able to] walk and see and touch and get outside, but we forget about this.
“Only when something happens to us, then we can really understand the meaning of that. Now it’s only a case of waiting for what will happen.”