On the road to recovery

It’s a parent’s worst nightmare. The phone rings and a voice on the other end says your child has suffered a serious injury. There’s no comfort or certainty, you just drive to wherever it is the ambulance has taken your child, and you hope and pray there will be a tomorrow.

Over the summer, two local families received that gut-wrenching phone call, but thankfully their prayers for their child to see another day were answered. Jordan Zides and Kevin Becker, both Lynbrook High School graduates and Owls soccer players, were involved in accidents that resulted in major head trauma.

Last Saturday, the Lynbrook athletic department hosted its annual Soccer Day with the junior varsity and varsity teams, both boys and girls, taking on Malverne/East Rockaway. A portion of the proceeds from the event will go toward the recovery funds for the two young men.

Zides, who was involved in a major car accident on July 25 in upstate Warrensburg, was overwhelmed by the support of the community. “It’s unbelievable that everyone is thinking of me,” Zides said. “It means everything. It’s hard to believe that people are making me a priority. I’m awed by it. I can’t thank people enough for all the support.”

Zides, who had been working at Camp Echo Lake when the accident took place during a lunch break, was rushed to Albany Medical Center. The family was told the injury was as severe a brain injury as one could have. He was given a five percent chance of making any type of recovery. He has defied all odds.

Jorday’s father, Bruce, believes a miracle took place. “I told people I would give my left leg to have my son sit and watch a ballgame with me and know what he was watching,” he said. “My wife just wanted to hear her son call her mom. We got a miracle. I just want him to be a normal 20-year old who can go back to school, get and education, and have fun with his friends.”

Becker, a junior at East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania, was seriously injured Aug. 26 when he fell 13 feet from a flat roof outside of his campus bedroom window. Becker suffered multiple skull fractures. He was in stable condition, but he was in a comatose state.

Jeanmarie Becker, Kevin’s mom, knew things were on the upswing about 10 days after the accident. “My first prayer was that I would get a hug again from my son, and I got a hug,” she said. “Getting a hug from him was like bringing him into the world as a baby all over again. It was unreal.”

Both men are back home in Lynbrook, and are working at brain function and memory exercises to help with cognition. 

Damian Becker was quick to thank all for the support his son has received. “It’s just incredible how many people have contacted us one way or another to lend their support,” he said. “It’s all about family, community, faith, and the incredible caretakers. The people from Lynbrook, East Rockaway, St. Raymond and everywhere else have been nothing short of amazing.”

To make a donation to the recovery fund that has been set up for Jordan Zides, please send to Fern Davis, 8 Jan Lane, Woodbury, NY 11797. Donations to the Kevin Becker Recovery Fund are being accepted at The Kevin M. Becker Donation Fund, 155 Sunny Acres Dr., Lewisville, NC, 27023.