Our guest this week is Steve Harris of Lanesboro, MN a free-lance writer, widower, author and father of two sons with disabilities. Part 2.
Steve and his wife, Susan, have married for 17 years. Steve and his first wife, Pam, were together for 30 years, before she passed away in 2012 due to a rare neurological disorder. Steve and Pam had two boys: Matthew who was born in 1980 with Spina bifida and younger son, Andrew, who is 37 and who has Cerebral Palsy. Both boys would eventually be diagnosed with PMD or Pelizaeus Merzbacher Disease, a rare neurological disease, where there is a lack of myelin covering the nerves.
Very sadly, Matthew passed away in October 2020 four days short of his 40th birthday.
Steve's career included being a pastor, a middle school teacher and for 20 years, director of communications at Twin Cities YMCA . All along Steve has been a writer who morer recently has published two books:
- Dads Like Us: A Survival Guide For Fathers Raising Children With Disabilities (2024)
- Lanesboro, Minnesota (2018)
We also learn about a wide range of supporting organizations the family has benefited from, including:
- Spina Bifida Association,
- Boston Children’s Hospital,
- University of MA Medical Center,
- Genetic Counseling Gillette Children’s Hospital (St. Paul),
- Wanna Meonie’s School (Palo Alto) inclusive, and
- MN Accessible sports.
One of Steve's superpowers is his resilience through some of life's greatest challenges. This week's episode of the SFN Dad To Dad Podcast is Part 2.
Show Links:Phone – (952) 836-7904
Email – sharris1962@msn.com
LinkedIn –
https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-harris-44101315/Website –
https://steveharrisauthor.com/Books –
Special Fathers Network -SFN is a dad to dad mentoring program for fathers raising children with special needs. Many of the 800+ SFN Mentor Fathers, who are raising kids with special needs, have said: "I wish there was something like this when we first received our child's diagnosis. I felt so isolated. There was no one within my family, at work, at church or within my friend group who understood or could relate to what I was going through."
SFN Mentor Fathers share their experiences with younger dads closer to the beginning of their journey raising a child with the same or similar special needs. The SFN Mentor Fathers do NOT offer legal or medical advice, that is what lawyers and doctors do. They simply share their experiences and how they have made the most of challenging situations.
Check out the 21CD YouTube Channel with dozens of videos on topics relevant to dads raising children with special needs - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzDFCvQimWNEb158ll6Q4cA/videos
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