Sue Tame

Married for 25 years, Sue and Jon Tame were keen rock and roll dancers, until one morning when Sue was involved in a life changing incident.

At 8am on Tuesday 4th December 2012, Sue Tame left her home in Wolverhampton and started to walk the short journey to the bus stop, to travel to her job at Wolverhampton City College.

Jon Tame recalls, “I had recently been reunited with a band I used to play guitar with.”

On the morning of the incident, Jon’s band decided to hold their first daytime rehearsal and he was getting ready as wife Sue was running late for work. “I offered to give her a lift as I was concerned she would be late, but she didn’t want me to miss my band’s rehearsal.”

Around 20 minutes after Sue had left the house, Jon returned upstairs to finish getting ready and heard a knock on the door. “The police told me that Sue had been in a car accident and I didn’t believe them. I explained that our car was still on the drive and it was then that they told me she had been hit by a car.”

Sue had been at a zebra crossing and was hit by a car travelling at 40mph. Due to the severity of her injuries, the Midlands Air Ambulance from RAF Cosford was called, to give Sue the best chance of survival.

The precious time  that the aircrew spent at the roadside with Sue and the care administered by the team throughout the flight to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, turned out to be paramount to Sue’s recovery.

Jon continued “The police car drove me the short distance to the zebra crossing but as we approached, the air ambulance was just taking off with Sue on board.

“The police took me straight to the QE and I remember being so frustrated as they couldn’t tell me if she was ok.”

Sue was rushed in to theatre and placed in an induced coma for three weeks. Her injuries included two internal bleeds on the brain, a fractured vertebra and two broken legs. Doctors told Jon that Sue may never walk again.

Miraculously, just six months after the accident, Sue’s determination to walk was apparent when she got out of her wheelchair at Coven Memorial Hall in Wolverhampton and walked  to the stage to present Midlands Air Ambulance Charity volunteer, Geoff Woodford, with a cheque for the charity, leaving the room in tears.

Sue explains “I don’t remember anything about the accident, but have since been to the airbase to meet the crew. I was so surprised that one of the paramedics remembered airlifting me! I know it’s such a small word but I just wanted to say thank you to them for saving my life.

“Jon and his band, ‘GLINT’, have hosted events to raise money and all of our family and friends now get Midlands Air Ambulance Charity calendars and diaries every Christmas. We’ve always known about Midlands Air Ambulance but we still can’t believe they receive no Government or National Lottery funding.”

Doting husband Jon wrote a poem for Sue during her recovery, titled ‘The wonder of Sue’.

“After being told Sue would never walk again, we’re so grateful that she has come this far. There is no doubt that if it wasn’t for Midlands Air Ambulance and their response time within the ‘Golden Hour’, Sue would not be with us today.”

Sue and Jon celebrated their 25^th wedding anniversary in 2015 and plan to revisit Las Vegas in 2016 to extend their celebrations. They also continue to be enthusiastic fundraisers for Midlands Air Ambulance Charity.

‘The Wonder of Sue’

One day in dark and bleak December

A day they say she’ll not remember

My love they tried to take away

A Guardian Angel said “No, she must stay”.

When Sue left home, she was walking

When struck, sweet Sue had just been talking.

This sad old day was Oh so shocking,

She just planned to do some shopping.

A ‘copter landed with great haste

This girl must go! No time to waste!

Determined and brave as they left the ground,

In no time at all hospital bound.

These guys that do what must be done

This job they do sure ain’t no fun.

Word filtered through that Sue was hit,

This day a star for Sue was lit.

They said that now I must be told

I just remember feeling cold.

A love so strong will see us through

This love is what I have for Sue.