111 – Registered Nurse Roddy Vannoy Juggles Caring For COVID Patients And Two Daughters with Autism

Transcript:

Dad to Dad 111 – Registered Nurse Roddy Vannoy Juggles Caring For COVID Patients And Two Daughters with Autism

Roddy Vannoy:  What a world to be in where I’m in this situation or this scenerio where I have to raise these children who have special needs. And it’s so overwhelming, people can sugar code it and say like, Oh, they’re fine. As a man. And you know, like you want to take on this persona that you’re a strong person and you don’t want to show your emotions.

And there are so many days where I would just be in my car and I would be just. Just losing it, just crying.

Narrator: That’s special father Roddy, Vinoy talking about the challenges of being a single father of two girls with autism. Rodney is a registered nurse and we’ll hear his fascinating and uplifting story on this special father’s network  dad to dad podcast. Here’s our host David Hirsch.

David Hirsch: Hi, and thanks for listening to the dad to dad podcast, fathers, mentoring, fathers of children with special needs presented by the special fathers network.

Narrator: The special father’s network is a dad to dad mentoring program for fathers raising children with special needs.   Through our personalized matching process new fathers with special needs children connect with mentor fathers in a similar situation. It’s a great way for dads to support dads, to find out more, go to: 21stcenturydads.org.  

David Hirsch: And if your dad looking for help or would like to offer help, we’d be honored to have you join our closed Facebook group.  Please go to facebook.com groups and search dad to dad. 

Narrator: And now let’s listen in to this conversation between Rodney Vannoy and David Hirsch.

David Hirsch: I’m thrilled to be talking today with Rodey Vannoy, Brentwood, California. Who’s a father of three girls and a registered nurse .   Roddy, thank you for taking the time to do a podcast interview for this special fathers network.

Roddy Vannoy: Oh, you’re welcome. I’m honored .

David Hirsch: You and your ex wife are the proud parents of three girls. Ryane 15, Vanessa  13, and Paige nine.  Two of your three girls have been diagnosed with autism. Let’s start with some background.  Where did you grow up? Tell me something about your family.

Roddy Vannoy: I grew up in Antioch, California. I have, uh, two brothers and a sister.   My father was an immigrant from the Philippines. He came here as an eight year old that with his mom and my grandfather.  They came over here. Uh, then they, you know, they met my mother, so I fathers, you know, he’s a Filipino and he’s, he’s, he’s white and. My brothers and sisters, we grew up in Antioch and it’s kind of a small town.  It’s a suburb town outside of Oakland. It’s a suburb, but everybody just kind of lives there. Kind of works in Oakland, works in San Francisco. So there’s a lot of people that are kind of coming in and out, but the community growing up was actually really nice. I mean, I, I feel like it has, it had that small town feel.  Growing up, but, uh, as the years have gone on, it’s gotten much larger.

For the most part, most people kind of knew each other, but as the city got bigger and expanded, I think it’s kind of lost that small town feel, but it’s still a nice place to be. It’s right by the water and growing up with my, you know, my brother and sister, my father and my, my mother. They’re very,  very supportive, very interesting people.

But my father, he’s always kind of been a. A hardworking individual. He’s a very quiet guy, but he was always working two jobs. And I really felt like he, he didn’t talk a lot, but he, he showed you, he showed you that it was gonna take hard work, that it was going to take, you know, dedication, you know, and he instilled that in me, I think.

And, and also my brothers and my sister.

David Hirsch: What I hear you saying is that he had a good work ethic.

Roddy Vannoy: Exactly.

David Hirsch: And maybe actions speak louder than words, right?  He was more of a role model than somebody to tell you, do this, or do that. See what type of work did he do? 

Roddy Vannoy: He’s a, he’s a garage sub foreman at PG&E.  And then he also worked a job in the morning. So he’d get up at about 6:00 AM. Work for about four hours. And he would, uh, he would deliver newspapers over amount of four hours or something like that. So he’d do that in the morning, six o’clock to about 11 or 12, and then he’d get off of that job. And then he’d work at PG&E from three 3:30 to 11:30 to 12 o’clock at night.

David Hirsch: Oh my.

Roddy Vannoy: Yeah, he did that for a good 10, 15 years, I think,. Day in and day out. And I sometimes I, I admire and think of back and I’m like, wow, that was. That was pretty incredible, you know, for somebody to do that day in, day out and just have that, the durability. I don’t sometimes I think like I wouldn’t be like.

David Hirsch: Ha  ha.   So how would you describe your relationship with your dad?

Roddy Vannoy: Oh, we have a, we have a really, really good relationship.  When I think of him. Uh, he, somebody that I could always count on me, somebody that I could always go to, if I needed something. And he would always be there, you know? And I think that’s something you need out of a parent. I can’t even explain or, or, you know, say how important it is to have somebody in your life that you can always count on.

Always be there for you. If you needed something, he’d give you the shirt off your back. And I think that’s, that is a very important quality because you never feel like you’re alone. He’s always been supportive, always been my backbone, even when, you know, sometimes, you know, you, you don’t know you’re making the right choices or you don’t, you know, even if he doesn’t think you’re making the right choices, he’ll support you anyway.

David Hirsch: Well, it sounds like he’s played an important role in your life. And I’m wondering if there’s any thing you said or did that sticks in your mind? That is something that, you know, you’re like, uh, that’s something I always heard my dad’s saying.

Roddy Vannoy: I don’t know if there’s anything in particular that he’s ever really said, just cause I, like I said, he’s a, he’s a quiet guy, but he’s always kind of just explain that you have to earn it, you know, if you ever want anything, anything in this life that, that matters, that means something you have to go out there and you have to earn it.

David Hirsch: Well, that’s a pretty good takeaway. Thank you for sharing. You grew up there in Antioch, you were in high school. And how did your educational or career blossomed from there?

Roddy Vannoy: Well, I graduated high school and then I, uh, I actually was trying to get on with PGE originally and, uh, it never ended up really, really taking fruit.

So I ended up taking a job as a delivery driver for, uh, a beer sales company. I called Mark Stein Sales Company.  So I had a class, a license. I drove a 52 foot trailer and I delivered locally. Um, and that’s, uh, that’s around the time that my kids were born. And, uh, you know, we start going through the diagnosis and everything else .

David Hirsch: From a career standpoint.  How did you go from being a class A  driver to being a nurse practitioner?

Roddy Vannoy: That story came about maybe three or four years into my job as a class A truck driver. And I actually didn’t know that I was going to be an RN. I didn’t know that I was gonna end up being a nurse. I started going back to school because I knew that I didn’t want to be, you know, a class A  truck driver, my whole life.

I felt like there was something more for me. Um, so I, I went back to college and I started taking classes and I started taking some science classes and I took some math classes and I found that, uh, they were really interesting biology, anatomy, all those different sciences, you know, I found it so interesting.

And I said, you know what? You know, maybe a career in the medical field might be the way that I want to go. I love people. And I think that definitely had a connection with me. Cause I love, you know, interacting with it’s people and being with people and making them better, making them feel better. And the deeper I got into.

School with nursing and, and planning and preparing for that. Uh, the more I ended up loving it and it’s kinda just caught me all by surprise to me.

David Hirsch: So how long have you been a registered nurse then?

Roddy Vannoy: Two  about two years now.

David Hirsch: And what type of work do you do in the hospital?

Roddy Vannoy: So I worked on a progressive care unit, so it’s a PCU.

So it’s, it’s like a step down ICU. So the unit I work on, there’s two parts. There’s two sides. It’s a whole, it’s like a U shape, but one side is ICU. And then right behind those doors is my unit. And it’s, IMCU. So let’s say intermediate care unit.

David Hirsch: So you had mentioned that you were married maybe for about 10 years, you have three daughters. And is that complicated the situation that you’ve been divorced for whatever number of years now?

Roddy Vannoy: Yeah, I think it. It is complicated. It complicates things in regards to, uh, you know, raising the children. And it definitely makes some challenges, you know, when you’re trying to make decisions and, you know, you don’t agree on everything and it can be really, really challenging.

David Hirsch: So what if you don’t mind me asking is the custody arrangement?

Roddy Vannoy: So we have, we have joint custody. It’s kind of split down the middle, but she has more physical custody cause she has them during the week. And this was set up before because I was going to school and then I was working during the day. So I have them on the weekends.

I’d have them on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, every week. That is the breakdown. So she’d have them Monday through Friday and then she dropped them off Friday, Saturday, Sunday.

David Hirsch: Okay. Well, it’s good that you have a joint custody arrangement and it sounds like it’s an arrangement that’s helped to create some balance for both of you.

Roddy Vannoy: Yeah, definitely. Um, you know, when you have kids that are autistic, I think that the biggest challenge is trying to get that balance and stability for them. That’s a really important factor.

David Hirsch: Before Rayne and Vanessa were diagnosed. Did either you or your ex wife have any experience with special needs?

Roddy Vannoy: No. Um, I had no experience.  I remember the day that they, uh, that they were diagnosed. I had heard a little bit about Autism, but I didn’t really know what it was. Uh, this was back in 2006 is when I, when they told us about it and it, it wasn’t really super mainstream at that point. And I didn’t really know much about it.

David Hirsch: So the girls are relatively young. These are your two older girls. And I’m wondering if you can think back to that point in time. Um, you didn’t know a lot about autism, but. What was it that you were thinking about? What concerns did you have at that point in time?

Roddy Vannoy: I think, uh, in terms of what to do at that point. Cause you know, when they tell you, I remember my, my ex wife, she, she was in tears and, and I think my reaction originally, I didn’t know, really know what was going on and, and I didn’t think nothing of it.

I was a little, maybe a little bit in denial. I didn’t know the extent of what was going to happen, but we didn’t really have a plan of what to do, where to go next. I mean, it’s kind of like falling off the edge of a cliff. You don’t know where to go.

David Hirsch: Was there any meaningful advice you got early on that you look back on now and was really instrumental?

Roddy Vannoy: What I am thankful for is they had an early intervention program. Um, and I think that. Was just amazing in a sense of, we have a place that we can take them that understand, that know how to deal with, with, you know, Autism and the disabilities that go with that. I remember sitting in these rooms and they would just go over these packets.

And I had no idea what they were even talking about. You know, I had no idea what they’re talking about. It was really, really overwhelming. I mean, that would be, you’d sit in there and they would tell you all these things. And then, you know, you think that they’re doing the best for your kid and you’re like, Oh, okay.

Yeah, it sounds like they know what they’re doing. Um, but then later on you would, you’d look at the goals and the plans for the kids and you’d be like, wow, they’re really not doing much.

David Hirsch: So what was it then that, helped you understand or embrace the situation as opposed to just sort of following along to lean in or engage?

Roddy Vannoy: Well, I don’t know what the instance was, but I remember that my. My ex wife, she had a friend that she had met through the school and she would talk to her about the IEP and we learned that, you know, like there’s so much more that we can ask. To get for our children. You know, when in regards to services, uh, occupational therapy, behavior therapy, um, a lot of things that really a lot of parents don’t even know is available and what’s, we started going down that kind of rabbit hole.

We started discovering more. And then we started learning more and we ended up meeting more people that knew more. And then I met a wonderful lady that really turned the tide. For usad she was, she was really smart. She had a son who was autistic and she really came in and, uh, guided us. Uh, and she’s who started this, this advocacy group that I was in, in that that really helped teach us how to get the right education for our children and get the most out of it.

David Hirsch: That’s fabulous. People like that are sort of being angels, right. They just happen to appear in your life. And if it wasn’t for them, you know, you sort of question, you know, where would you be without them? That’s really nice . Not to focus on the negative, but to be authentic. What have been some of the bigger challenges that you’ve encountered?

I think you mentioned you were 19 when you became a dad. So, that sort of presents its own challenges.

Roddy Vannoy: Yeah, definitely. I think back and I’m like 19, I didn’t know anything, what a world to be in where I’m in this situation or this scenario where I have to raise these children who have special needs and it’s so overwhelming, you know, like people can sugar coat it and say like, Oh, they’re fine.

You know? And I feel like. As a man, you know, like you, you want to take on this persona that you’re a strong person and you don’t want to show your emotions and yeah. And I’ll tell you right now, there, there are so many days where I would just be, be in my car and I would be just, just losing it, just crying, you know, just, just losing it, you know, and, and asking and asking God, you know, why?

You know, why, why is this happening to my kids? Why is this happening to my children? And, you know, not having an answer is probably one of the most frustrating things that you can go through as a parent.

David Hirsch: Any other challenges come to mind?

Roddy Vannoy: Definitely the challenge of trying to have a relationship. If I haven’t said it already with my ex wife, you know, trying to have a relationship while you’re raising children on the spectru.  It can be incredibly taxing, you know, because the kids require so much of your attention.

It’s almost like you lose it. You lose, you know, why you came together in the first place. And I think that became such a challenge. I don’t want to say that, you know, that that is the reason why we’re not together, but all the pieces come together and, and all, and they, they, you know, have reasons why you, things don’t work out.

David Hirsch: Yeah. Well, it sounds like pretty heavy situation. You’re young parents, you’ve got three young kids you’re working, you get these diagnoses and it’s challenging enough to. The parent, let alone a young parent let alone a young parent raising a child or in your case, children with special needs. One of the ways I’ve heard it described draughty is it’s the, in some cases that proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back, right?

It’s just too much work. We’re human beings, right? We are not Superman. And you know, at some point you’re going to reach a breaking point and it sounds like perhaps that’s where you found yourself as well.

Roddy Vannoy: Yeah. I definitely feel like I was being stretched incredibly thin feeling like there’s no options.

There’s no, you know, there’s nothing. And I think that what really helped me through the whole process was looking at my stuff, children. Cause a lot of times you sit there and you look at them and you’re looking at big picture. You’re looking at like, what are they going to be when they’re adults? And I think.

That can be overwhelming in itself. And I really took that and said, you know what, I’m going to scale this down to today. You know, what can I do for them today? You know, let’s focus on their behaviors. Let’s focus on their diet. Let’s focus on this and let’s, let’s try to. You know, shake things up here and see what happens and then changes here and see what happens.

And, you know, maybe we can make some changes there and, you know, and I think that’s been beneficial and it’s been helpful and has been able to keep me kind of goal oriented and keep my sanity, I think in a way.

David Hirsch: Yeah. Well, it’s great advice. You know, you can worry about the past. You can’t change that. And I think it takes, some extra special effort or some discipline mental discipline to focus on one day at a time. And like you said, it’s a healthier place to be when you stay in the present. So one of the questions I was thinking about you have three daughters Rayne and Vanessa are the ones that have autism. I’m wondering what impact their situation has had on Paige, their younger sister or the rest of your family for that matter.

Roddy Vannoy: Yeah. I th I think it’s great because I’m blessed with such great family, my parents, um, they couldn’t be more supportive and more loving, and that that’s helpful. I do think about this a lot, you know, especially with my daughter, Paige and I, and. I’m like she’s growing up in the circumstances that are completely challenging and difficult.

And I do remember when she, I was going to school and especially with her older sister or, you know, with Vanessa being in the same school, you know, kids would ask her, you know, like, what’s wrong with her? Why is she like that? And, you know, and she would always explain it to them, like, try to tell them, like, this is, this is what’s wrong with her.

This is, you know, why she acts this way. I think for her, it gave her some adversity and I couldn’t be more blessed with her ability to handle that adversity and take it and use it because she’s such a strong young woman for being she’s nine years old and she’s so smart. And, you know, she, she listens very well.

I couldn’t be more blessed.

David Hirsch: Yeah. Well, that’s maybe one of the silver linings, you know, that you do have three daughters and, um, Being the youngest one by age, right? She may end up leapfrogging her sisters,.

Roddy Vannoy: Definitely.

David Hirsch:  With her ability, depending on how things transpire. And you don’t want to sort of sell your older daughter short, you want to.

Try to continue to challenge them and help them reach their full potential. But it’s going to be a balancing act when you have more than one child and you don’t want to have too many of the resources too much of your time and attention dedicated to the two because they have these challenges and then overlook the needs of in this case, uh, your youngest daughter as well.

Roddy Vannoy: Absolutely. I think balancing is the parents’ greatest. Problem, I guess you can say is balancing all the needs of everybody in the house, all the needs of each individual child balancing the needs of your family, balancing the needs of your friends and not just balancing the needs of your family and friends with balancing the needs of yourself.

That couldn’t be more said. I think in regards to a parent that has a special needs child, is that you need to take care of yourself first because. You know, if you don’t take care of yourself, you’re not going to be able to take care of anybody because you’re not going to be, you know, capable.

David Hirsch: Yeah. Well, what comes to mind is sort of announcement that they make when you’re taking off in an airplane, that in the event of a emergency, when the oxygen masks come down, You need to put yours on first because you know, if you can’t breathe, that means you’re note going to be able to help anybody else, you know, get through whatever the situation is.

So good advice. Thank you for sharing. Um, speaking about health, I’m sort of curious to know now that we’ve been sort of sheltered in place for three or four months, I’m wondering what impact COVID has had. On your family and then perhaps from a professional perspective as well.

Roddy Vannoy: Yeah. Uh, I mean, COVID has been, you know, it’s, it’s scary, you know, this pandemic, you know, is, has changed a lot of things.

It’s, you know, with the kids not being in school, it’s kind of messed with their routine, you know, and that’s a big deal. Um, they haven’t really had a lot of therapy because, you know, there’s no therapy going on. That’s definitely affected them, their behaviors. And it’s been a challenge, but I think, and also for me being in the hospital, the unit that I work on is a, is basically it’s a COVID specific unit.

So most of the patients that have COVID-19, they usually come to my unit and I have direct care. With COVID-19 patients. Um, so that, that is, it’s a challenge in itself because, you know, I don’t want to get COVID and I don’t want to bring it home to the family. We know that that children aren’t really at great risks of getting COVID, but there is a risk, but this, this pandemic, I think people don’t realize how scary that it can be, because I see people who have almost no significant history at all of any medical issues or, uh, Uh, preexisting conditions and they go on the ventilator and it is scary.

It’s very scary. And I’m just really glad that I work at a hospice that really takes into account. Uh, the staff. And the safety that we all put together and, and we put a lot of resources towards safety and making sure that we have the right equipment, uh, and protective gear. So that we’re safe though.

The scariest thing is that if somebody gets COVID right, that is, is in the hospital. If we’re on our unit, say I get COVID, but I’m an asymptomatic carrier. Like they say, and I go to the nursing station and I. Touch the keyboard and touch all this stuff. You know, now I’m spreading it to everybody on the unit.

I mean, this, the entire unit could get COVID, you know, and they could completely disrupt healthcare. And I think that’s what people don’t really understand. Um, when they say, you know, cause a lot of people are protesting. They’re tired of sheltering in place and I don’t blame them. You know, I’m sure they’re, they’re restless.

They don’t want to do it. But if we have some of these surges where there’s. They’re overwhelming the healthcare system. And we only have a few ICU nurses. You know, those people are, you know, very limited, you know, that’s that’s special care. Um, so when you start putting everybody on ventilators and you have somebody who isn’t properly trained to take care of a patient that is an ICU, you know, that’s, that’s a bad situation.

David Hirsch: It is scary. And it’s sometimes you don’t know what to believe because there’s sounds like there’s people that are knowledgeable and then weeks or months later, whatever they were talking about, you know, it hasn’t come to pass. So I think there’s some general confusion out there. But what I hear you saying, Roddy, is that if you had to err, err on the side of precaution, right?

Be more conservative, right?  And your habits where the masks wash your hands. Maintain the social distancing. Hopefully it’s just for a limited period of time, even though we hoped it was only going to be weeks now it’s been months. It could be for the rest of the year. Who knows it could be longer, right?

Roddy Vannoy: I say, yes, absolutely. I think that this is going to go on. Until there’s a vaccine. So as long as this is out there, uh, it’s not going away. And until they have a vaccination and, they’re able to prevent this disease from being as bad as it is. I think people are going to be shelter in place for quite,

David Hirsch: Yeah well, time will tell. I can’t worry about, you know, things you don’t have control over, but we do have control over our own actions and how we’re conducting ourselves. Let’s talk a little bit about the advocacy that you’ve been doing beyond just, you know, advocating for your own kids. What is it that you’re doing, um, on behalf of other parents in these IEP meetings?

Roddy Vannoy: So for awhile, I actually, I had to, I had to stop when I went back to nursing school. Cause it was so intense that the group still exists and my ex wife is a part of it and she still helps out. It’s a all children allowed advocacy group and a good friend of mine. Her name was Tiffany. She started it and basically got a lot of parents together that had special needs children.

And, um, we did a lot of trainings together. So we did a, these rights law trainings and it’s basically special education, uh, law training seminars that we would go to. And the, uh, The seminar would just teach you how to advocate for your child during IEPs, you know, using the law, using, uh, Just educating you on how to, how to read statistics and how to figure out what was the best plan of action.

Um, so we started this group and then we started getting more people and then whenever we would be out and we’d see other parents, we had encouraged them to come to our meetings and they would come to our meetings and we would educate them how to organize themselves, how to operate, and then we’d sit on IEPs with them and they would, we would all kind of come together as a community of parents.

David Hirsch: You know, it’s just remarkable that you felt. The calling or connect the time to do that, given all the other things that you had going on in your lives as young parents and with the challenges that go along with having not one but two girls on the spectrum. So I really admire you and your ex wife for dedicating a certain portion of your time and energy to helping others.  It’s a, it’s really impressive.

Roddy Vannoy: Yeah, thank you.

David Hirsch:  I’m thinking about advice now, Roddy, and I’m wondering if there’s any. Important takeaways that come to mind as it relates to advice that you’d give to a dad or grandpa for that matter, who’s raising a child with differences.

Roddy Vannoy: If I could give any advice, the best advice that I could give is that it’s going to get better.

It’s going to get better and you’re going to get better and they’re going to get better and focus on the narrow as much as possible. Like I said before, you know, one day at a time, It’s all you can control. It’s all you can do. And if you take it one day at a time, every day, you change every day, your perspective change, never stop learning, never stop working and read and educate yourself and also want to, I wanted to thank you too a little bit.

Uh, cause you know, you, when I first talked to you, you, you advised the book for me to read and it was Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters. Yep. Dr. Meg maker. What an incredible book. Even if you have sons, it doesn’t matter. Everybody should read this book. I mean, it is absolutely uplifting and eye opening. Um, without question, um, it completely changed the way that I raise, uh, my, my daughter Paige um, because there were things that I was doing that I didn’t even realize.

David Hirsch: Yeah, well, let’s give a special to Dr. Meeker for the work that she does, and we’ll include that in the show notes as well, just because I think it’s relevant to anytime anybody tells me they have one daughter let alone two daughters, or somebody like yourself who has three daughters. Even if you’re not a reader, get this book.

I read it two or three times as we were raising our girls that are now 23, 26, seven 29. We need people like Dr.. Meeker and women to provide us with some idea or some insights on what’s going on because it’s not intuitive. Right. You know, you, you need some more information.

Roddy Vannoy: Definitely.

David Hirsch: So, thanks for mentioning that.

So, uh, why is it that you’ve agreed to be a mentor father as part of the Special Fathers Network. Um, because I feel like, uh, my story is important for people to know, and I also feel like. It is important for people to be able to connect with each other, being a special father, being a father of a special needs child is a special thing.

It’s a special group and it takes a lot and it takes a lot of support from not only your face family, but your community, your friends, it’s so challenging to be a parent of a special needs. chid.  It’s challenge is just to be a parent. I mean, just being a parent is hard. And, and being a parent of a child with special needs, is that much more challenging?

I really think that parents out there need somewhere to go. They need someone to talk to. They need someone to connect to not everybody’s situation is the same. And I think that we all understand that everybody’s story is different, but you know, if you can find somebody that can connect with you and that can talk to you and just.

Just be there for you. I think that is just overwhelmingly important.

Yeah .Well said. We’re thrilled to have you as part of the network. If somebody wants to learn more about you or to contact you, what’s the best way to go about doing that?

Roddy Vannoy: They could contact me through my email. It’s my name@gmail.com.

Rodney vannoy@gmail.com. Or they could get me at my Hotmail, which is RodneyJvannoy@hotmail.com. Either one of those, sometimes I get busy with work, but you know, I I’m pretty prompt if anybody wants to contact me, anybody has any questions regarding anything just still feel  free to have them reach out to me, please.

David Hirsch: Rodney. Thank you for taking the time. In many cases, sites, as a reminder, Rodney is just one of the dads who is part of the special father’s network, a mentoring program for fathers raising a child with special needs. If you’d like to be a mentor father or are seeking advice from a mentor father with a similar situation to your own, please go to 21stcenturydads.org.

Thank you for listening to the latest episode of the special fathers network, dad to dad podcast. I hope you enjoyed the conversation as much as I did, as you probably know the 21st Century Dads Foundation is a 501c3, not for profit organization, which means we need your help to keep our content free.

To all concerned, would you please consider making a tax deductible donation? I would really appreciate your support.  Please also post a review on iTunes, share the podcast with family and friends and subscribe. So you’ll get a reminder when each new episode is produced Roddy. Thanks again.

Roddy Vannoy: Thank you so much, David.  I appreciate it.

Narrator: And thank you for listening to the dad to dad podcast presented by the special fathers network. The special fathers network is a dad to dad mentoring program for fathers raising children with special needs. Through our personalized matching process. New fathers with special needs children connect with mentor fathers in a similar situation.

It’s a great way for fathers to support fathers, go to 21stcenturydads.org. That’s 21 st. Century dads.org.

David Hirsch:  And if you’re a dad looking for help, or we’d like to offer help, we would be honored to have you join our closed Facebook group. Please go to facebook.com groups and search dad to dad. Also please be sure to register for the special father’s network, biweekly zoom calls held on the first and third Tuesdays of every month.

Lastly, we’re always looking to share interesting stories. If you’d like to share your story or know of a compelling story, please send an email to David @21stCenturyDads.org.  

Narrator: If you enjoyed this podcast, please be sure to like us on Facebook and subscribe on iTunes or wherever you listen. The dad to dad podcast is produced by couch audio for the special fathers network.

Thanks for listening.