Brick rallies for couple struck twice by tragedy Basketball tourney benefit slated for March 15 at high school BY PATRICIA A. MILLER Staff Writer CHRIS KELLY staff Ed Wilkowski (r) discusses plans for a basketball tournament to benefit Michelle and Michael Fox and their daughter, Ava. The couple lost two of their three children to Batten disease within nine months of each other, in 2006 and 2007. Ava, who is almost 3, does not have the disease. BRICK TOWNSHIP - Ed Wilkowski heard a lot of tough stories during the 28 years he was a cop on the Newark police force. But when he read about Michelle and Michael Fox in the Brick Bulletin shortly before Thanksgiving, he couldn't get the young couple out of his mind. "I couldn't believe it," he said. "I toldmy mother when I die, the man upstairs and I are having words. This shouldn't have happened to anybody in this world. My insides came out. I just felt I had to do something. I knew I could do something." The Foxes lost two children to Batten disease in the space of just nine months. Kaliann Rose died at 5 in September 2006. Tyler Michael, 4, died last July. The couple had no idea they were each carriers of a recessive gene for the rare genetic disorder when they married in 2000. Only their daughter Ava, now almost three, has been spared. Wilkowski read about the couple's leftover medical bills from their children's illnesses. He wanted to help. So he decided to do what he does best - throw a benefit for the young family. "I said, 'I'm doing that for them,' " Wilkowski said. "It was just an overwhelming thing." And while most of the previous benefits he has organized have hit a snag or two along the way, the Fox family benefit slated for March 15 is coming together almost effortlessly. "It's like wildfire," he said. "It just catches on. People want to give, but they don't know what to do sometimes." First things first. He needed a gymnasium for the event. "I've done this before and I know what to do," Wilkowski said. "The first thing I have to get is a gym. If I don't have a gym, I don't have anything." He knew a few strings to pull, since he had coached basketball in Brick recreation leagues in the past. "I went to all the schools and gave out the fliers," he said. "I steer the boat, but I need horsepower. I need the gym. I need food." He got the gym. Brick school officials offeredWilkowski the use of the BrickMemorial High School gym. He called Andrea Zapcic in the township recreation department. He told her he could not afford the cost of insurance for the event. "I said, 'I don't have any money for this,' "Wilkowski said. "She said, 'You'll be under our umbrella.' Insurance is a killer. But everybody got together and we formed a little plan here." A security officer from Monmouth Medical Center who moonlights as a disk jockey offered to provide the music for the event. "The music makes the tournament," Wilkowski said. The only money he had to put up front is for roughly 80 trophies and several hundred T-shirts for the event. And he's getting a break on the cost of the shirts. Once the trophies and shirts are paid for, the remainder of the proceeds will go to the Fox family, he said. Michelle Fox said she and Michael are very grateful for the benefit. "I really wasn't expecting anybody to do anything else," she said. "It's going to be wonderful. We still have those medical bills. After that, we will finally start with a clean slate." The Foxes also don't have to worry about the cost of a headstone for their two children, who lie next to each other in Greenwood Cemetery in Brielle. Private donations have paid for most of the bill, Michelle said. "We should have it placed in the spring," she said. "Everything is in the works. I think it's going to be taken care of." The Sunshine Fund, a nonprofit fund set up to help the young family with living expenses when Kaliann and Tyler were still alive, is now closed. Michael went back to work in November, but was laid off shortly before Christmas. He just went back to work last week. Having her husband home with her before the holidays was a blessing, despite the lack of work, Michelle said. "I don't think I would have done well," she said. "We had each other for a while and got a lot of stuff done." The Foxes stayed with Michelle's parents for more than three months after Tyler died. It was too painful to go back to their Wood Avenue home, Michelle said. "We actually kind of went down after we came back home," Michelle said. "Christmas Day was ok, but afterwards, it was rough, being back here. We still had to go through the kids' things. It was right in our faces again. So we hunkered down and were hermits a little bit again." Their little girl Ava keeps them going, she said. "She's great, she's wonderful,"Michelle said." She's talking so much. She's just the best. I have a girlfriend staying with me right now. I was getting the room ready. Ava saw me making the bed and she asked me if Tyler was coming back. She talks about Kaliann, but she talks about Tyler more." The 3-on-3-basketball tournament starts at 9 a.m. on March 15 at Brick memorial High School. The cost is $50 per team. Food and beverages will be available. For more information, contact Wilkowski at (732) 458-5584 or go online at www.Myspace.com/brick3on3chrity. The deadline for applications is Feb. 20.