Wednesbury teen left unable to speak after crash returns home

The teenager is settling into his home after undergoing more than a year of treatments for the injury that has left him unable to speak or walk unaided.

The 14-year-old and his family have recently moved to a new house in Beebee Road which has been specially adapted to meet his needs.

His mother Amanda Knight said: "It's lovely to have him back home, but it's been a real struggle for us and we are still trying to get him into a routine.

"He depends on us 24 hours a day to dress him and feed him and in some ways it's like we are starting all over again with James."

James and his family's lives were irrevocably changed on April 24 last year when he was knocked down on a pedestrian crossing on the A461 High Bullen in Wednesbury while out playing with friends.

He was rushed to Birmingham Children's hospital by air ambulance and spent four months there with his family by his side - his father Jason, 45, sleeping next to him every night in a camp bed.

In August, he was fit enough to be moved and began receiving treatment at the Children's Trust in Surrey before recently returning to his new house in the Black Country.

"His friends have already been round to see him and James has really enjoyed seeing everyone, but it can be quite awkward for them when he gets frustrated." said 43-year-old mother-of-three Amanda. "They along with so many other people have been really supportive throughout his treatment."

Now back at home James continues to make progress and is now beginning to move about on his own with the aid of a walker and talk using a computerised device, called a Lightwriter.

He will soon be starting at Chadsgrove School near Bromsgrove that specialises in teaching children with physical disabilities and has on site physiotherapy and hydrotherapy studios.

"He continues to make good progress and is already achieving the same levels in mathematics that he was before the accident, but it is his emotional age that has changed and he sometimes throws tantrums and gets upset, which is hard for us as a family," said Mrs Knight.

"He has set himself the target of walking by Christmas and he is so determined to do it. He puts so much effort in at the physiotherapists, but he gets easily upset and can become inconsolable if he can't do something."

Following the crash the family called for the driver to be prosecuted by police and launched a petition with the Ministry of Justice asking for the case to be reviewed and re-opened, but the driver has not been charged.

Mrs Knight said: "We finally told him about how he had received his head injury a few weeks ago, before that we had only told him he banged his head so he didn't get upset. He is absolutely furious that the driver hadn't been locked up and hasn't really come to terms with what happened."

His sister Leanne Birks spent much of the months after the accident been working tirelessly to raise money for her bothers private physiotherapy and has held several fundraising events with her other siblings. She along with the rest of the family continues to raise money to help with his recovery.

If you would like to see the progress James is making and find out how you can donate to his cause visit www.facebook.com/james.journey.319