January 18, 2025
Local News

Family, friends help Alex Novak of West Chicago along road to recovery

By MARY BETH
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After being hit by a van while riding his bike last August, West Chicago resident Alex Novak was left with severe brain injuries. Alex has been helped on his road to recovery by family and friends including his girlfriend, Jaci Doncoes (pictured behind Alex), who visits him every day. (Submitted photo)

WEST CHICAGO — When Jaci Doncoes first met Alex Novak, she knew he was different.

He wasn't into the usual antics she had learned to expect from boys his age. Alex was nice and mature and gentlemanly, qualities not always found in 14-year-old males.

It was for these reasons that Jaci decided to go out with Alex, spending their first official date hanging out at the mall and mini golfing.

Now their dates are different. Jaci spends about two hours with Alex every day, talking to him about her day and giving him a pep talk. She holds his hand because she knows that's what she would have done if none of this had ever happened.

On Aug. 18, Alex was riding his bike near his home in West Chicago when he was hit by a van, leaving him in a coma for about six weeks. He's been responsive since late September, opening his eyes and giving others a "thumbs up" as his main form of communication.

He suffers from severe brain injuries, but surrounded by family and friends, he has begun the long and difficult journey ahead.

"Our world is a different place," said Larry Novak, Alex's dad. "It changed in the blink of an eye."

Alex, 15, now a quadriplegic, requires 24-hour nursing. He eats through a feeding tube and breathes with the help of a tracheotomy tube.

He receives about 17 medications every day, including Botox injections to relieve spasms. His family is looking into getting him an internal pump to deliver medication straight to his spinal cord to treat the spasms.

"As a father, it's really hard for me to say I've turned my living room into a hospital room," Larry said.

Community members have rallied around the teen to help his family pay for his newfound medical expenses.

The Knights of Columbus at St. John the Baptist Church in Winfield, Alex's parish, hosted a fish fry fundraiser Feb. 22 for the teen. More than 450 meals were served, a record high for the fundraisers, Larry said. The church hosts fish fry fundraisers on Fridays during Lent.

A Kick-a-Thon event will be held beginning at 5:30 p.m. Friday at the West Chicago Park District Fitness Station, 103 W. Washington St.

As part of the event, students from five martial arts schools in the area will kick for every dollar they raise. So if a student raised $100, that student would kick 100 times.

The event was organized by Gillian Hernandez, head master at West Chicago Tang Soo Do and West Chicago Jujutsu and Tai Chi. Students at West Chicago Tang Soo Do alone have already raised nearly $3,000 for Alex, Hernandez said.

Hernandez has taught Alex martial arts since he was 7 years old, calling the student's skills "Olympics-caliber."

Although Larry said he is unsure of how far Alex's recovery will be able to go, he knows all the support has helped his son.

"We really appreciate that everyone in the community has come out to support Alex," he said. "We all need him back."

In January, Jaci bought Alex a Precious Moments statue that reads "your love makes my heart blossom" for their first anniversary. She's purchased other presents for Alex too — cards for him every month, the jersey of his favorite New England Patriots player for Christmas — all waiting until he's ready to recognize what she's giving to him.

And Jaci is willing to wait as long as it takes to give him his gifts.

"I'm going to continue visiting him every day because I love him, and he loves me," Jaci said. "I'm not going to lose hope. And I'm not going to lose faith in him because he's strong and I believe in him."