SFN Dad To Dad 436 - Jamie Bark of New Richmond, WI A Widower And Proud Father Of Two Daughters Including One With SMA.

Our guest this week is Jamie Bark, of New Ricchmond, WI, a fire fighter, former owner of Value Auto Glass, a widower and father of two daughters, including one with Spinal Muscular Atrophy.Jamie and his wife, Jackie, were married for 30 years, before she very sadly passed away in January of 2025 after a long battle with Multiple Sclerosis.  He is also the proud father of two daughters: Maddie (21) and Gabby (17) who has a type of Muscular Dystrophy known as Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) level 2. Jamie reflects on his life as a firefighter and private business owner, the struggles of raising a child with SMA, losing his wife to a debilitating disease and becoming a sole parent as well as the role Cure SMA and MDA have played on behalf of his family. Jamie's story speaks volumes about his commitment to family, perseverence and reslience all on this episode of the sFN Dad To Dad Podcast. Show Notes - Phone – (715) 222-0369Email – [email protected] - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamie-bark-74631022/MDA – https://www.mda.org/Cure SMA - https://www.curesma.org/SFN Audiobook 'On Losing A Child' - https://tinyurl.com/46jueh3s Special thanks to all those who supported the SFN U.S. Tour, a month-long, 50-state, 60+ stop tour that took place from May 21 to June 21, 2026: to strengthen and grow the Special Fathers Network and distribute 1,000 complimentary copies of our new book: Dads Raising Children With Special Needs & Disabilities: A Guide For 21st Century Dads. 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/videosPlease support the SFN. Click here to donate: https://21stcenturydads.org/donate/Special Fathers Network: https://21stcenturydads.org/