Declan Osborne home from hospital after moped crash
A teenager who suffered a massive brain injury after being knocked off his moped is beginning the long road to recovery after finally returning home from hospital.
Declan Osborne's life was turned upside down after his moped was hit by a car near his home in Rowley Regis.
The 17-year-old spent weeks in a coma and had to learn to talk again.
His older sister Nicole says he still has a difficult journey ahead and admits she doesn't know if he will ever be the same person he was before the accident.
He is back home after months in hospital and a brain rehabilitation unit.
Nicole, 27, said: "He's here, that's the main thing - his life wasn't taken.
"But he's not the same, every aspect of his life has changed.
"He has lost a lot of his cognitive skills and his confidence has been knocked.
"It's like he is a different person.
"He has had one of the most serious brain injuries, on the brain stem. The brain does everything in your body."
The young Albion fan's life changed when his moped was hit near Mackmillan Road on January 30.
He suffered a broken collarbone, cheekbone, ankle and multiple facial fractures.
Nicole said: "He had to learn to communicate with us again. He used to tap his tongue to get our attention.
"He is talking again now but he's totally different.
"If we talk to loud or more than one of us talks at the same time, he can't handle it.
"His whole daily routine has changed. He won't be able to go back to college and might not be able to go on his bike again.
"That's what kills him. He sees all his friends on their bikes but he can't do it."
Nicole says it has been an 'ordeal' for her and her father Michael as they have had to learn how to care for Declan.
She said: "We have got to adjust to looking after someone with a brain injury.
"We have had no training.
"It has shook him. Everything is all over the place like a jigsaw and we have got to find the pieces and make sure he is safe and comfortable.
"It is crazy that his life completely changed in a split second."
Declan, who attended the Ormiston Forge Academy in Cradley Heath, is now facing a gruelling rehabilitation programme as he continues his recovery.
And Nicole said: "It's hard when I've grown up with him, you've grown up with somebody and now they are a totally different person.
"In some aspects it's like I have lost the person he was before the accident but I can only be thankful he is still here.
"He is in the best hands and is getting the best care."
