Our nine months of perpetual grief for Richard

THE father of a teenager who died this week from injuries he suffered in a crash in Co Down last October has told how the family has been going through “perpetual grief” for the last nine months.

Richard Weir (17) from Warrenpoint was one of five teenagers involved in the accident.

The car they were in crashed on the Hilltown Road in Kilcoo in the early hours of October 26.

Richard’s friend Dawid Blenski (18), also from Warrenpoint, was driving and died.

After spending a period in the Royal Victoria Hospital’s intensive care unit, Richard had remained in a vegetative state since November and was in Musgrave Park Hospital for the last five months.

He passed away on Monday. Richard is survived by his father Brian, mother Yvonne, siblings Ethan, Finlay and Avabelle, and the wider family circle.

Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, Brian explained that his son had just turned 17 on the night of the crash.

He said his family had been “grieving every day for the boy that he was”.

The Weir family thanked the medical staff at the Royal Victoria and Musgrave Park Hospitals for the care they provided.

Reflecting on the incredibly difficult period since the accident, Mr Weir said: “It’s been a mixture of everything. Me and his mum have suffered from depression and anxiety.

“It was perpetual grief — that’s the best way to explain it.

“We have been grieving every day for the boy that he was.

“We were grieving for him without an end in sight.

“There were two possible outcomes: either Richard gets better, which would have been brilliant. Or Richard dies and we can grieve for him.

“Although we hoped against hope that he was going to recover, even to a point where we could get him home, I think the doctors were right with their predictions.

“They couldn’t give us a time or a date. He was expected to live for a few months up to a couple of years after the accident.

“The damage was done after his stroke three weeks after the accident.”

Despite the catastrophic injuries that Richard suffered, the Southern Regional College student initially showed significant improvement after he