Local couple honoured

Among those honoured with awards were two Goring residents, Sean and Sue Absolom. Many local people will know that Sean is the oncall watch manager at Goring fire station and Sue is a volunteer community first responder for South Central Ambulance Service.

Sean and Sue received the Chief Fire Officer’s Certificate of Commendation, which is awarded to members of the fire service, partner agencies or the public for acts of bravery, or performing to a high standard under difficult circumstances. The award recognises their actions in assisting a seriously injured father and son who had been hit by a vehicle in August last year. This happened in their leisure time when out with their son, Charlie, but Sean and Sue did not hesitate to give help when it was needed. They were driving along Wallingford bypass when they saw the father and son waiting to cross the road. Suddenly the youngster, who was on a toy scooter, lurched forward. His father instinctively rushed to grab the boy but both were struck by a minibus. The boy was thrown to the left and suffered a severe head injury. His father was hurled to the right and suffered a broken arm. On seeing the accident occur, Sean jammed on his brakes, stopped the car and they both ran to the scene. With no equipment and no immediate back up, they prioritised treating the child who was unconscious with blood coming from his ear. Sean quickly dialled 999 while Sue stabilised the young boy. She also intervened to stop a passer-by who wanted to move the child. Without a doubt, her actions saved the boy from further injury, as it was vital he remained still to prevent neck damage. Sue said, ‘We did our jobs, what we are trained to do. I kept him stable enough to hand over. The intervention really did save his life. Having held him as I did, I will always feel I have a connection with him.’ Sean spoke to a paramedic on his mobile, using the phone’s camera so images of the injuries could be relayed to an oncoming ambulance crew. After about 10 minutes two helicopters and three ambulances arrived to help. After the incident, Sean received a phone call from the injured child’s mother and heard the great news that her son was on the mend. She also told him that the surgeon had advised the family that Sean and Sue’s prompt intervention had likely saved the life of her son. Sean said, ‘In our roles we do not usually see the accident, so seeing it all happen in front of us was very hard to process for a while. Having a little boy myself, I don’t know how any parent can go through that.’ Charlie, who was in the car, messaged his older brother Ryan to come and pick him up. Sean said: ‘That was very mature for a 10-year-old and we were very pleased to have him taken away from the scene.’ He added: ‘At the presentation the little boy’s mum appeared with a bouquet of flowers. There was not a dry eye in the house. It was very emotional.’ Chief Fire Officer Rob MacDougall said: ‘Without Sue and Sean’s quick thinking and their combined trauma care skills, things could have been very different. I am really pleased that we can honour their selfless actions in how they dealt with this emergency.’