Family holding on to hope Donation fund set up for John Gibbons Jr. Teen suffered brain injury in Oct. 10 train wreck. Friday, October 26, 2007 • By ANDREA EILENBERGER • The Express-Times GREENWICH TWP. | Sitting at her sister-in-law's kitchen table, Patty Gibbons quietly holds onto a sheet of school pictures of her son, John E. Gibbons Jr., from last year. At the same time Thursday night, her son remained in a coma at St. Luke's Hospital where he ended up after a train wreck 16 days ago. She worked with her family to attach his photos to the plastic containers they plan to use as donation cans. Patty Gibbons has a gut feeling he's going to wake up soon. "When I go in there and talk to him it seems like he's just trying to wake up from a deep sleep," Patty Gibbons said. He's squeezed her hand, but it's hard to tell if his reactions are voluntary. She doesn't know what he'll be like when he does open his eyes. The Oct. 10 train accident in Phillipsburg left John E. Gibbons Jr. with a brain injury and broken clavicle. He was riding a dirt bike on the tracks beneath the Black Bridge when a Norfolk Southern freight train came up on him from behind, authorities have said. Barbara Ricci, Patty Gibbons' sister-in-law, said the family figures they can either sit down and cry or get up and try to help. They visit him as often as possible and have been preparing a donation fund. "It's all for John," Ricci said. The John Gibbons Rehabilitation Fund established at Bank of America will help Patty Gibbons pay for the mounting medical expenses. He will likely be taken to a rehabilitation center once he leaves the hospital, she said. Anyone wishing to donate can do so at any bank branch; the family is also planning to put the donation cans in area businesses within the next few days. Patty Gibbons doesn't have medical insurance to cover the bills and said she has no way of anticipating just how much it will all cost. The extent of his injuries is unknown until he awakes, she said. "He's sleeping and he's not awake yet; we're living in limbo," Ricci said. Despite their fears and frustration, the family predicts the 18-year-old's strong will is going to prevail. He's a fighter and doesn't give up, his cousin Cheryl McKee said. That attitude is part of the Irish clan's heritage, they said. "It's a Gibbons thing," they said with a brief laugh. The large family is close-knit and John Gibbons Jr. is one of 26 grandchildren. He loves to joke with and tease his family members and friends, but he is always their biggest defender, they said. He loves to fish, swim and skateboard. He had ridden dirt bikes a few times and he was riding the bike of a friend the night of the crash, Patty Gibbons said. The family is grateful for the immense support the community has given them, especially from his friends and staff at the Phillipsburg Alternative Secondary School. "All we can do is pray," McKee said. Reporter Andrea Eilenberger can be reached at 610-258-7171 or by e-mail at aeilenberger@express-times.com.