Sandra Mandell-Lucci said that her 15-year-old nephew, Michael Stine, was a typical teenager until three months ago.
“He loved video games and playing with his friends,” Mandell-Lucci said. “He’s a really good kid.”
Michael Stine lived in the Granton Gardens in North Bergen until two years ago, when the family moved to the Poconos in Pennsylvania. Before then, Michael was a student at Lincoln School who loved life and loved being a normal kid.
However, the teenager complained of headaches in March. The honor student saw his grades slip and his energy fall. He couldn’t sleep.
Laurie Stine, Mandell-Lucci’s sister and Michael’s mother, took Michael to a doctor. Michael was diagnosed as having brain cancer.
“Michael had surgery at Children’s Hospital in Philadelphia,” Mandell-Lucci said. “Only 30 percent of the tumor could be removed because it is located at the tip of his brain stem. Some of the cancerous cells were intertwined.”
Mandell-Lucci said that young Michael currently lives with a permanent shunt that helps to reduce the fluids from his brain, but also prohibits Laurie Stine from working or doing anything except caring for her son.
“He really can’t do much,” Mandell-Lucci said. “It’s affected his equilibrium and his capability to get around.”
Someone in Mandell-Lucci’s father-in-law’s establishment, Nick’s Tavern on Kennedy Blvd. in North Bergen, suggested having a dart tournament in a way to raise money to help Michael. But then, softball got thrown into the mix.
“The softball tournament idea just took off,” Mandell-Lucci said. “We sent out a flier to different area softball teams and businesses, to see if they would be willing to help.”
The response has been overwhelming, and the Friends and Family for Michael Stine Softball Tournament will be held Saturday, August 3, in North Hudson Braddock Park, beginning at 7:30 a.m.
Throughout the day, several softball games will be played, as well as fun and food at Nick’s Tavern. There will be raffles for prizes of gift baskets and gift certificates, as well as a 50/50. There will be smiles and fun, all for a good cause, helping a North Bergen kid who is in dire need of help.
“So many businesses have stepped forward and have been willing to help,” said Mandell-Lucci, who has coordinated the tournament with her husband, Joseph. “Jagged Edge Beauty Salon, Hashway’s Deli, Appetito Sausage of Union City, America’s Bakery, the North Hudson Regional Fire and Rescue, Ski’s Courier Service, United Parcel Service, K&C Brakes in North Bergen, Party Box, Hansen’s Windows, James Vincent Bicycles, Farmland Dairies, the North Bergen police department and the North Bergen Housing Authority have all supported us.”
The Hudson County Parks Department, headed by Thomas McCann, donated the use of the field for the day. “Although we threw this together at the last minute, it really has come together nicely,” Mandell-Lucci said. “So many people are donating things. I’m very happy with the response.”
Joseph Lucci, Sr. is appreciative of the support he has received to help his stricken grandson.
“It’s been very nice to get all this help,” Lucci, Sr. said. “A lot of people understand the situation and have stepped forward. It’s much appreciated.”
Because they haven’t set a goal as to how much money they want to raise, the Luccis are still asking for donations of any kind. Interested people should contact Nick’s Tavern at (201) 854-4663.
“I think it’s going to be a great event for a good cause,” Mandell-Lucci said. “I’m sure it will be a great tournament and a great day.”
While the focus this year is on helping Michael and his family, the friends at Nick’s Tavern, which has been a fixture on Kennedy Blvd. in the town for more than 70 years, want to continue the tradition and have a tournament for another charity next year.
“We’d like to keep doing it,” Mandell-Lucci said. “If the interest is there.”