'Countin on a Miracle' at Lansdale Catholic
Roger Kirk, the brother of LC's football coach and brother-in-law of the basketball coach, is fighting ALS.
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN serenaded the Lansdale Catholic basketball team as it burst onto the court yesterday against visiting La Salle High, while Roger Kirk sat in the stands and smiled.
In fact, it was mostly the Boss blaring over the PA system yesterday in honor of Kirk's favorite musician.
Roughly a year ago, Kirk, the brother of Lansdale Catholic head football coach Tom Kirk, and brother-in-law of basketball coach Ed Enoch, was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease.
As part of ALS Awareness Day at Lansdale, students and fans wore red T-shirts with the Springsteen title, "Countin' on a Miracle" written on the back. On the front - "Kirkin' It" - which became the theme when 700 friends and family walked at the 2013 AmerisourceBergen Greater Philadelphia Walk to Defeat ALS in November.
Supporters of Rogers raised close to $70,000 that day, Tom Kirk said. "It may not cure him," Tom said, "but maybe it will go toward curing his children or grandchildren."
Roger struggles to communicate verbally because of the disease's progression, but he is able to communicate via email. And, Tom joked, when frustration sets in, hand gestures do the trick.
"The way that he has attacked this has been unbelievable," Tom said. "It's a horrible disease, a horrible disease. But he's just taken this thing head-on."
Tom said the family's ties to La Salle made the day ideal. Roger's son Ryan played at La Salle with current Lansdale assistant Collin Fitzgerald. Tom's son Corey is a senior forward for the Crusaders. Enoch is married to Janice, Roger and Tom's sister.
"He is my brother-in-law, but more importantly, he's been a good friend of mine for 31 years," Enoch said. "His dilemma now with ALS, it's a hard thing to deal with, but the one thing he's never done . . . he just lives every day, doesn't question anything and just battles. He's a great example."
Roger has five children (Tim, Ryan, Joe, Jenny and Diana) and a grandson (Johnny) with his wife Mary Anne, whom Tom Kirk called "a rock."
Through a family friend, the Kirks say that Roger has corresponded via email with Springsteen band member Steven Van Zandt and was also a guest of Van Zandt's at a recent New York concert.
The family's focus now is clear.
When Roger was the president of the Old York Road Country Club, Tom said he scheduled an ALS golf outing at the club simply because it was a good cause. Now, Tom said the September outing could bear his brother's name.