Nurse overcomes stammer in time for wedding vow renewal

A nurse from Solihull, who has suffered from a stammer for most of her life, has managed to overcome it in time to renew her wedding vows for her 25th anniversary.

Angie Allbones had to consume alcohol before saying 'I do' at her wedding to husband Nigel 24 years ago, so she wouldn't stammer and stutter her way through the vows.

But now, after signing up to a special programme to control her speech, the 45-year-old can say her vows confidently.

Medics believe the shock of losing her grandfather when she was five caused her to start stammering, and it affected all aspects of her life since. She was bullied at school by teachers more than other children.

Angie even tried to change the date of her son Jim's delivery date.

She also overpaid on buses many times, because she did not want to say 'daysaver' to the driver, and spent long periods of time looking for certain items at supermarkets that she struggled to say, rather than ask for help.

The turning point came when she called in sick to work, rather than have to give a presentation. She decided to get help from the McGuire programme, which looks at both the physical and psychological aspects of stammering, focusing on deep breathing.