Photo Courtesy of the DiLorenzo Family
Northwell LIJ Hospital in Manhasset has been flooded with donations of food and supplies, courtesy of the friends and family of Johnny Boy DiLorenzo.
By Michael V. Cusenza
“He’s a fighter.”
Asked to describe her brother, John DiLorenzo, and his kid sister, Deanna DiLorenzo Beydoun, swiftly spit out those three words.
After hearing just a bit about the battler that is Howard Beach’s beloved “Johnny Boy” DiLorenzo, 34, you’ll nod in approval of her choice.
Hospitalized since April 1—every single day in an intensive care unit. On a ventilator since April 1—with 15 of those 30 days accompanied by Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) system. Bounced around to three hospitals since April 1, thanks to COVID-19. On death’s door on Sunday, April 19.
That’s when Johnny Boy got off the mat. And with a little help from hundreds of family, friends, and an inspired community, DiLorenzo is in the early stages of a miraculous comeback that has even baffled his doctors.
“My brother has never given up on life,” Deanna said. “He wasn’t supposed to make it through. But we knew he wasn’t going to give up on this.”
DiLorenzo, a carpenter by trade, has had a strong foundation of fans supporting him every day. But one day, Saturday, April 25, was so magical that it sounds like it could have been swiped from a Hollywood screenplay.
Photo Courtesy of the DiLorenzo Family
More than 300 tow trucks and civilian vehicles parked up Community Drive, just outside the hospital in which Johnny Boy DiLorenzo is battling COVID-19.
The parade started at 156th Avenue and 89th Street, near Johnny Boy’s house, and it continued all the way to Manhasset, L.I., and Community Drive and Northwell LIJ Hospital, Johnny Boy’s sterilized and sanitized home for the past month. More than 300 tow trucks and civilian vehicles parked up as close to Johnny’s 8th Floor ICU abode as possible, so he could hear the horns of support and his favorite song—Billy Joel’s “We Didn’t Start the Fire.”
This outpouring of love floored Johnny Boy’s nurses. They flashed the lights in his room to indicate that their prized patient heard everything, that he appreciated all, and that he’s still standing in the ring.
The next goal, the next opponent, is finally shaking the ventilator. He may not need it in a few days.
Fingers crossed.
But until then, and every day that follows, Johnny Boy’s Howard Beach community will be there for him, just as he has been there for the South Queens enclave for the past 34 years.
“Whatever doubts we may have had about our neighborhood have disappeared,” Deanna said. “Their support, the power of their prayers and positive thinking has made us all believers. This neighborhood came together and it’s such a beautiful thing.”
This neighborhood, Howard Beach, is still in Johnny Boy’s corner.
Can’t leave now.
“The Miracle of Manhasset” is still fighting.
