Palos Park Community Rallies To Support Injured Biker's Family

PALOS PARK, IL — When Stephanie Ebert began cutting Lenny Kobilca’s hair last summer after he suffered a spinal cord injury in a bicycle accident that forced him to use a wheelchair, she began thinking of how she and others could do something to do something to help his family.

But when Ebert witnessed Kobilca’s mother, Katie, and sister, Elle, admiring her backyard space that is equipped with a shade-giving pergola earlier this year, Ebert knew she had her answer. She, along with local community organizer Karen McCarthy, went to work to plan a surprise backyard makeover for the Kobilca and his family in an effort that, as of Thursday, has raised more than $7,300.

While a Go Fund Me effort originally had a goal of $5,500 for the renovation project, the Palos Park community exceeded the amount and has kept giving.

Now, with money raised for the project and with local businesses such as Lowe’s, Ozinga Concrete, ESW Royal Construction, Sid's Unlimited Landscaping, Caliber Custom Homes and Schillings Lumber donating materials and labor, the project will take place on this weekend, when a host of volunteers will converge on the family’s home and complete the makeover.

Those interested in helping out in the effort can sign up here.

“Everybody said that they still had Lenny on their mind and everybody wants to do something,” Ebert said Thursday. “Any way they can help, they want to help, which I just thought was tremendous. … They just want Lenny to know that they haven’t forgotten about him and they are constantly wondering what they can do to help."

Kobilca broke his neck when he fell off his mountain bike on July 30, 2019, while testing out a ramp he and his friend had built, according to a Go Fund Me post from last year. In what seemed like a simple maneuver for Kobilca — an avid mountain biker — he catapulted over the handlebars of his bike and landed on his head. After being rushed to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Kobilca was determined to have sustained spinal cord damage which required his C1 and C2 vertebrae to be fused together.

In a post on his Caring Bridge diary page, Kobilca expressed his gratitude for the support the community has shown since the accident. Ebert, who continues to cut Kobilca’s hair, said she is amazed at the improvements he has made since the accident.

“If it weren't for people like you, this would be a much different situation,” the post from Kobilca reads. “I am extremely grateful."

While Kobilca has experienced some movement since the accident, progress has been slow, which inspired the project to renovate his family’s backyard. A new patio has already been laid to provide a foundation for the pergola, volunteers will work on Saturday and Sunday if needed to plant new shrubs and flowers, construct furniture and a grill as well as clean up the existing space that will provide the family with a new family oasis.

Any leftover funds, Ebert said, will be given to the family as Kobilca continues to rehabilitate from the accident. At times, Ebert said, the family sometimes struggles to know how to deal with the generosity of so many people, but that the efforts have shown them what kind of support continues to pour in.

“(The family) was just shocked and rendered speechless because of the (community’s) kindness,” Ebert said. “They were definitely humbled, but I think there was definitely a sense of not believing that people would want to do this.”