HAZLETON — As John Leshko walked out of the hospital, he saw a crowd.
Fellow firefighters stood with caregivers, friends and therapists wearing T-shirts that said “Standing Strong for John.” A girl held a sign with the same message as the shirts.
“This is all for you,” firefighter J.T. Klein said to Leshko in the lobby of Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hazleton.
On Friday, Leshko left the hospital, to which an ambulance had brought him on Halloween after he had a stroke.
Leshko, who retired from fighting fires in May, just months before his stroke, spent 21 days at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Cedar Crest before returning here to undergo weeks of therapy in the Gunderson Inpatient Rehabilitation Center.
During his stay, firefighters visited him, and on Nov. 12 they crowded into a city council meeting to advocate for Leshko, who hadn’t begun to receive his pension.
The pension issue has been resolved; Leshko just has to sign papers to make it official, Shawn McArdle, a firefighter and vice president of the city firefighter’s union, Local 507 of International Association of Fire Fighters, said.
Hazleton firefighters sold T-shirts to raise money for retired firefighter John Leshko after he suffered a stroke. On Friday, Dec. 13, 2024, Leshko walked out of Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hazleton following weeks of care and therapy. (Kent Jackson / Staff Photographer)
McArdle told Leshko that firefighters sold 350 T-shirts, raising more than $1,500 so far for Leshko, his partner, Donna Hill, and their two children.
“We didn’t know what this was going to lead up to for his family,” McArdle said.
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The union is reopening a store on its Facebook page, Hazleton City Firefighters IAFF Local 507, where people can buy shirts for Leshko.
“A great employee for many years (who) served the community admirably,” Mayor Jeff Cusat said in a text about Leshko, who also worked as a police officer in West Hazleton and Kline Twp. “We wish him a speedy recovery.”
In Gunderson, stroke patients might relearn everyday tasks like washing and dressing while working on upper body strength, Danielle Minzola, an occupational therapist who helped Leshko, said.
There’s also physical therapy to help patients walk again with exercises that might involve elastic bands, weights and stairs.
Speech therapist Christina Barnes said she might ask stroke patients regaining their abilities to practice naming pictures and naming family members while building up to sentences.
“I never met anyone more determined,” Barnes told Leshko.
Hill said Leshko, who also owns JBC Trucking, is more than ready to return to their home.
They were preparing for their son’s Halloween party when Leshko had his stroke.
After also missing Thanksgiving, she said they’ll be home for Christmas.
Hazleton firefighters, friends and caregivers cheer retired firefighter John Leshko on Friday, Dec. 13, 2024 after he walked out of Lehigh Valley Hospital-Hazleton following stroke suffered on Halloween. (Kent Jackson / Staff Photographer)
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