Verona Local scores with Hoops for Hope
n PHOTOS BY ED CARATTINI, JR.
It should have been the happiest time in Melissa DiStefano’s
life. After trying for so long to have a baby, in 2013 she was final-
ly nine weeks pregnant when tragedy struck.
“I was working the night shift as a neonatal nurse,” she says.
“I came home and had a seizure in bed. Thank God my hus-
band was there.”
Verona native DiStefano had a growing brain tumor that was
most likely aggravated by her changing hormones. She deliv-
ered her son Braydon on Dec. 16 of that year, and checked into
Hackensack University Hospital for brain surgery on Jan. 10,
2014.
“The doctors there not only saved my life, they saved my son’s
life too,” she remembers. “Today I am doing well, and Brayden
is a very healthy and rambunctious 3-year-old. I’m very grateful
to all the doctors who helped me.”
That’s why DiStefano was thrilled to accept the donation of
76
NEW JERSEY COPS
■ MARCH 2017
more than $4,000 to
help fund brain tumor
research at Hacken-
sack Hospital at this
year’s Hoops for Hope
fundraiser
organized
by Verona Local 72 on
Feb. 17. Her father Fred
DiStefano served on
the Verona Police De-
partment and retired as
Captain after 39 years.
The Verona girls’ bas-
ketball team hosted the
charity
competition
against rival Cedar Grove High School that was the brain child
of Cedar Grove senior Elyse Fearon, whose father, New Jersey
State Police Trooper Bill Fearon, was diagnosed with a malig-
nant and very aggressive brain tumor in May 2016, when he was
just 47 years old.
“Although his expected survival was six months, the hard
work and determination of the doctors allowed him to receive
another 13 months on this earth,” says Fearon. “As a junior
in high school then, I thought to myself, ‘How can you repay
someone for giving you additional cherished time with some-
one you love?’ An idea immediately emerged in my mind to
create a charity event honoring the game of basketball while
helping many people suffering from brain cancer.”
Fearon played for the basketball team at Cedar Grove High
School, whose members will host the event next year. “Not only
has this one game taught me important lessons like giving back
to those in need,” says Fearon, “this whole experience helped
me to realize what actually matters in life.” d