Family gets support as two recover from cancer Old Bridge hockey event will help family with medical costs BY MARY ANNE ROSS Correspondent Brett Fegel, 5, and his parents, Fred and Kristen, peek inside a gift bag containing a New Jersey Devils cap, one of several gifts presented to the family by the K. Hovnanian Trade Partners Council in December. The East Brunswick family asked for luggage for a planned Make-A-Wish trip to Disney World. In addition to the luggage and the cap, the Trade Partners gave the family clothing, toys and gift certificates. EAST BRUNSWICK - A little over a year ago, Fred and Kristen Fegel were living busy lives similar to other couples raising young families in the township. Kristen was working and while Fred was looking for a new job, he took care of 2-yearold Kelly and found time to improvise a hockey ring in the backyard. Soon he began teaching his 4-year-old sonBrett howto skate and play hockey. ThenFrednoticedthatasmall lumphehad on his leg had gotten larger.He told his doctor about itandthe tissuewasautopsied.Thenews was not good.At 38,Fredwas stunned to learn that he had liposarcoma, a relatively rare form of cancer of the fat cells. Fredwas told that the disease was in stage four and that he would need surgery right away. Looking back on that time, Kristen remembers "feeling overwhelmed." "I was trying to work, visit Fred in the rehab center, get Brett back and forth to school andKelly to the baby sitters," she said. "I didn't know how bad it was going to get," she added, grimly. KristennoticedthatBrettwasnot takinghis father's illnesswell,buthealso startedvomiting andcomplainingaboutheadaches.Hekept saying hewanted to stay home fromschool. "I thought hewas just upset about his dad. The two of themare best friends and the separation was hard on him," she said. Kristen and her pediatrician grew more alarmed as the symptoms persisted.Brett lost 6 pounds. One morning, Kristen rushed him to Saint Peter's University Hospital in New Brunswick for testing. "They called me in the other room and said, 'Your son has a brain tumor,' and I said, 'Don't you dare tellmemy son is going to die.'" Brett was diagnosed with a medullablastoma, one of themore frequent types of tumors that appear in children.Hewas scheduled for surgery four days later. Their surgeon reassured the couple, saying he'd removed this type of tumor many times. True to his word, the surgery was successful, but Brett faced a long road to recovery.Ashunt was inserted in his brain to help drain the fluids. He would need radiation, chemotherapy and physical therapy to help himrecover the use of his legs.His father needed radiation at the same time, so the two ended up scheduling their treatments together. Fred has recovered fairly well, though he is tested every threemonths. "They check his lungs, because they say that'swhere itwould spread.But so far everything has been fine," Kristen said. Brett's recovery has not gone as smoothly. Recently, he had to have threemore surgeries to treat an infection and problems with his shunt. "Hewas doing better, but nowhe is having seizures. Just when they think they have them under control, it happens again, and they have to try anothermedication,"Kristen said.Over the past fiveweeks, Brett has only spent two days in his own home. The rest of the time, he has been atHackensackUniversity Medical Center, primarily in the intensive care unit. "My life revolves around cancer. I have to have a day planner to keep track of the doctor appointments, the therapy visits, the tests," Kristensaid. "WhenI go to bedI feelnumb,and whenI sleepIhavenightmares. I see funerals." Kristen appreciates the support she receives fromfamily and friends. Brett's teachers have stopped by to see him, the Make-A-Wish Foundation has arranged forBrett and his family to visitWalt DisneyWorld in Orlando, Fla., in November. When the Embrace Kids Foundation approached her, Kristen requested luggage for the trip. Instead, over the holidays, Hovnanian Homes and Hovnanian Trade Partners Council teamed up with Embrace Kids and gave the family more luggage than they requested. They donated hockey caps, clothes, toys and gift certificates. "They gave us somany things that I couldn't give them to the kids all at once," Kristen said. "Usually,wework together to build a quality home for a family," said K. Hovnanian's vice president of construction services, Mike Kelly, who coordinates the council. "It was nice to build a happier holiday for a family by helping themdirectly." Kristen's brother, Jonathan Sarka, ofEast Brunswick, is trying to help raise money for the family, which has concerns about covering the costs of Brett's treatments and therapies once they reach their insurance limits. He has organized the Brett Fegel Ice Hockey Classic, which will be held at the Old Bridge IceArena onMarch 15 and 16. Sarka is working to haveMartin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils and other hockey stars play in the game. Readers can learn more about the fundraiser by visiting www.brettfegel.org or can contact the family at brettfegel@yahoo.com.