219K Raised By Fort Lee Father For Son in Coma

FORT LEE, NJ— School art teacher Stephen Halpern, who has engendered a passion for art his students and touched countless lives, spent at least five weeks in a cardiac arrest-induced coma, his family, who is from Fort Lee, wrote on a GoFundMe page that has raised over $219,000 so far to help cover medical expenses.

As of Tuesday, in fact, more than 1,300 friends, relatives, classmates and others donated to the GoFundMe campaign, which was organized by Halpern's father Jerry Halpern on May 22. In an email update to Patch on Sunday, Jerry Halpern said that Stephen is still in a coma, and that he and his family are hopeful he will emerge soon.

"We have been so humbled by the outpouring of love and support for Stephen," Jerry Halpern said in the email.

In an earlier update on June 1, the family wrote that Stephen Halpern had stabilized medically and was moved to a long-term acute care hospital after being in an ICU for three and a half weeks.

"We are steadfast in knowing in our hearts that he will recover. The world needs Stephen back," his family wrote. "We look forward to the day when he is fully healed."

Halpern's family wrote that asking for financial support is not in their nature, though they want to make sure Stephen Halpern has the best possible care once he is discharged from the hospital.

"Any donation, large or small, would benefit Stephen’s recovery," his family wrote, adding that caring for him in the years to come could cost several hundred thousands of dollars.

Funds raised, his family wrote, will cover hospital costs beyond Stephen Halpern's insurance coverage, skilled nursing care and rehabilitation in the future, and meals and transportation for him and his family.

"We firmly believe that all of the positivity we have received in the past few weeks has given Stephen the strength to continue fighting," his family wrote. "It might be a long road ahead, but Stephen is a resilient fighter, and he will make it through this stronger than ever."