By SHERRY HALBROOK
October 26, 2007, is a date PEF Region 4 members Cindy and Michael Lepak of Weedsport will always remember.

Their oldest son, 18-year-old Adam Lepak, headed off to classes at Cayuga County Community College on his motorcycle that day, like any other. But as he crested a hill, he swerved to avoid a slower vehicle and was hit by a car going the other way. Although he was wearing a helmet, he suffered severe trauma to his brain.

First treated at University Hospital in Syracuse, he is now at the Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation in West Orange, NJ.

“He really is just coming out of the coma now,” Mike Lepak said in late February. “Last night, when I left him, he moved his extremities for the first time. He tried to give me a thumbs up.”

Up until then, just opening his eyes was Adam’s most significant sign of recovery. He still can’t speak, but is trying to relearn how to swallow food, and his body still can’t regulate his temperature properly.

“He has a long road to hoe,” Mike said.
It’s a long road for the entire Lepak family. Cindy, who had just had surgery and was out on sick leave has stayed in New Jersey to be with her son. Mike has been working 10-to-12-hour days three or four times a week, so he can go down to visit on Fridays and return Sundays.

“It’s 267 miles each way,” Mike said. “We have to stay at a motel, because there’s no Ronald McDonald House.”

PEF members and others at the state Division of Parole and at the Department of Correctional Services quickly organized to raise funds to help the family through the crisis.

Mike is a parole officer at the Willard Substance Abuse Treatment Center for parole violators in western New York. An RN,


HELPING HAND — PEF member Cynthia Lepak secures her son Adam in his wheelchair.

Cindy is a nursing home surveyor for the state Health Department (DOH) in Syracuse

“We raised several thousand dollars for them,” said PEF member Jody D’Aloisio, a parole substance abuse counselor at the center. “We have a good family here, and everyone wanted to put together baskets for an auction and bake sale. Members at other parole worksites also sent in contributions.”

“What people have done for us has been wonderful. And the Division of Parole has been great about letting me manage my time, and DOCS has been very helpful in working with us on that,” Mike said. “DOH has been very cooperative too.

“We hope to bring Adam home in March, but that’s daunting because we will need to renovate our house to make it wheelchair accessible,” he said. “We’ll get him into a rehabilitation program in Syracuse.”

If you would like to help the Lepaks deal with expenses or send messages of encouragement, mail them to:
Adam Lepak Recovery Fund,
c/o Jim Kott, PO Box 552,
Port Byron NY 13140.