Hazlet toddler with cancer delighted by surprise backyard pool, thanks to local donors

Mick Augustitus, a 3-year-old who lives in Hazlet, had just undergone a stem-cell transplant to fight brain cancer when he returned home to a huge surprise Friday.

There was a swimming pool going up in his backyard.

“Seeing that made him so happy,” dad Mike Augustitus said.

The heated pool, plus its installation, were donated by area businesses thanks to outreach from the Ashley Lauren Foundation, a Brielle-based nonprofit that helps children and families impacted by pediatric cancer.

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“I can’t say enough about the outpouring of support and generosity from everyone,” Mike Augustitus said. “It’s restored my faith in humanity. You realize there still are wonderful people out there.”

The kind gestures carried extra meaning because they were orchestrated by Ashley Lauren Foundation resource director Laura Scalese, who lost her 6-year old daughter Charlotte to neuroblastoma (a childhood cancer that develops in the nerve cells) last June.

“It’s a ministry for me,” Laura Scalese said. “I’m taking my grace and the pain that I’ve gone though and I’m helping the future Charlottes, who need that same help and that same hope. This is the least I can do. I will move heaven and earth for every child that comes though this foundation.”

Laura, who lives in the Manahawkin section of Stafford, joined the Ashley Lauren Foundation’s staff last year after being involved with the charity for three years as a beneficiary family. Mike Augustitus said that backstory makes the donated pool that much more special.

“It’s amazing how you can go through all this pain and then dedicate your life to trying to help others,” he said.

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The above-ground, saltwater pool known as the “Lava Model,” a 15-by-24-foot oval that runs 4.5 feet deep, was donated at a value of $10,000 by the Hazlet branch of At Home Recreation — a pool, spa and patio-furniture company with additional locations in East Brunswick, Brick and Stafford.

“It’s our pleasure to help this little boy; he’s adorable,” said Kimberly Mulligan, a Hazlet resident and senior vice president of At Home Recreation, which is a fourth-generation family-owned business. “We all grew up in the area, and we talked about it. If everyone did one nice thing to make someone smile, wouldn’t that make the world a nicer place?”

The pool’s installation, including the cost of permits and a heater, was donated by KiKi Pool Installations of South Amboy. A third business, Gifted Hands Handyman Construction Services of Toms River, relocated the Augustitus family’s backyard swing set for free to the backyard of Mick’s grandparents to make room for the pool.

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The pool is saltwater at the recommendation of Mick’s doctors, Mulligan said, as his immune system is compromised by the stem-cell transplant treatment. Two more such procedures are slated for the coming months to combat the medulloblastoma, which has spread to spots on Mick’s spine. He’s being treated at Joseph M. Sanzari Children's Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center in Bergen County.

Suffice it to say the pool was a huge hit with Mick and his three sisters.

“They’ve been swimming nonstop since they got it,” mom Alison Augustitus said. “We are all so grateful.”

A barbecue-and-beer fundraiser for the Augustitus family takes place June 15, 2 p.m. at VFW Post 8096 in Butler. Cost of $25 payable at the door.

For more information about the Ashley Lauren Foundation, to volunteer or donate, visit their website at www.ashleylaurenfoundation.org, find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ashleylaurenfoundation, call 732-414-1625, or email [email protected].

Jerry Carino is community columnist for the Asbury Park Press, focusing on the Jersey Shore’s interesting people, inspiring stories and pressing issues. Contact him at [email protected].

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Ashley Lauren Foundation helps get Hazlet toddler with cancer new pool