Help a fellow "Man for Others"

To know Kirk Schmidt is to know a true “Man for Others”; a man with a relentless pursuit with purpose. As defined by Webster, to be relentless is to show or promise no abatement of severity, intensity, strength or pace. To know Kirk is to know there is no better word to describe him and his purpose.

Kirk’s entire senior class and his broader community was immensely moved watching Kirk walk across the stage at his Jesuit High School graduation. Eleven months earlier, he lay in a coma for a month with a severe head injury following a car accident. We all prayed for, encouraged, and cheered on Kirk as he made his recovery. From learning to swallow, to speaking, to moving each and every muscle again, to walking to just simply learning to live again. To see Kirk walk the stage was the culmination of his relentless pursuit to live the best life God blessed him with.

As a result of the head injury, Kirk’s brain has evolved and has created a new battle that goes by the name of Dystonia, a form of Parkinson’s Disease. Kirk’s brain tells his neck muscles they need to contract, and pull his head down to one side. This creates a physical battle for Kirk to try and keep his head upright. There is no known cure, only various treatment plans. Kirk is relentlessly pursuing relief to Dystonia through some of these treatment plans with limited success. If you see Kirk today, he might look a little lop-sided, and there is no doubt he is physically tired all the time, but his heart and passion are more straight and solid than ever.

Ten years ago, Kirk’s son, Turner Hall was born. Every day since that day, Kirk has been relentlessly pursuing his God given right to have a relationship with Turner. Kirk has made astounding sacrifices and has put in the true hard work just to have very limited opportunities to see Turner. Kirk is at a critical crossroad in this pursuit and thus we are reaching out for your support.

Kirk has been going at it alone for quite some time. Now is the time for his community to come together and give blessings to a man who deserves our help as he carries on with his relentless pursuit of the life God has blessed him with.