ReHealth Dads

04/24/2026

One morning last month started at 4:40 AM with my son screaming for me.

He had a bad chest infection that week and everything felt harder than usual. Getting him cleaned up, getting him dressed, and trying to give him medication all turned into battles. Every step turned into a fight, even though he was clearly exhausted and not feeling well.

At one point he bit into my shoulder and I had to leave the room to walk it off. By the time we finally got his medicine into him, it wasn’t even 7:00 AM, and I was already completely drained.
In the past, I would have used that level of exhaustion as an excuse to self-sabotage my own health. It is so easy to tell yourself that you deserve a drink or a night of junk food because the day was just too hard.

I shared some honest reflections today on how I navigated that week, the reality of the "invisible load" we carry as dads, and why showing up for your family on difficult days matters more than a perfect win streak. (link in comments)

Send a message to learn more

04/23/2026

4:40 AM, and he was already screaming for me.

By 6:12 AM, I was bitten, headbutted, and already running on fumes.

Things fall apart fast when your child is sick, especially with autism. The usual routines under strain, and everything turns into a series of physical and mental battles.

In those moments, the temptation to find fast relief is intense. The easy path is to reach for a drink or just check out mentally to escape the pressure. But I realized that holding the line on days like this is what dictates our long-term health.

This week I wrote about the reality of parenting through these brutal stretches and how not to throw in the towel when everything is working against you.

You can read it on my Substack (link in bio).

04/16/2026

A few weeks ago, my son and I were at the Toronto Zoo standing by the goat enclosure.

He was pointing, signing, doing his thing, and I was trying to keep up and figure out what he was trying to communicate. It takes a bit of back and forth sometimes, but we usually get there.

Right beside us, another father and his younger son were talking about the goats. They were having a full conversation.

It was a simple moment, but I felt it right away.

That comparison that shows up in those moments, whether you want it to or not. The part where you start noticing the gap. What feels effortless for them that takes so much work for you.

That comparison is the thief of joy.

This piece is my attempt to put that into words, and to remind myself where my focus needs to go instead. You can read it on my Substack (link in comments).

04/09/2026

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking more about what it means to be a father raising a child with autism.

There’s a part of this experience that I haven’t been able to fully put into words until recently. It’s not something I’ve really heard other fathers talk about openly either, but it’s something I’ve felt for a long time.

It’s the feeling of grieving a life that never actually happened.

Not grieving my son. I love my son more than anything. But grieving the version of fatherhood I once imagined. The experiences I thought we would have. The moments I used to daydream about before he was born.

This piece is my attempt to finally put that into words.
(link in comments)

04/08/2026

Over the past few weeks, I’ve been thinking more about what it means to be a father raising a child with autism.

There’s a part of this experience that I haven’t been able to fully put into words until recently. It’s not something I’ve really heard other fathers talk about openly either, but it’s something I’ve felt for a long time.

It’s the feeling of grieving a life that never actually happened.

Not grieving my son. I love my son more than anything. But grieving the version of fatherhood I once imagined. The experiences I thought we would have. The moments I used to daydream about before he was born.

This piece is my attempt to finally put that into words. You can read it on my Substack (link in bio).

04/02/2026

With today being World Autism Awareness Day, I felt it was the right time to share something I wrote over the course of 2024.

As a father of a son with autism, this became my way of processing the full range of emotions that come with this life.

I went back and forth on whether to ever share this publicly. I’m sharing it now for two reasons:

To increase awareness.
To help another parent feel a little less alone.

An emotional spectrum from hate and fear to love and hope

03/27/2026

This is a simple breathing exercise called 4–7–8 breathing.

Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds, letting the breath expand into your belly. Hold for 7 seconds, then exhale slowly through your mouth for 8 seconds.

That longer exhale can help calm your nervous system, reduce stress, and support better sleep, especially at the end of a long day.

As dads, we carry a lot. Sometimes you just need a minute to reset before moving on to the next thing.

Repeat the cycle as many times as you need, or try it before bed to help wind down.

03/25/2026

For many fathers, the path to better health is stalled by the way we handle stress at the end of a long day.

When you are exhausted from work and family demands, it is easy to fall into a loop of using alcohol to unburden the load. This habit often feels like the only door open for relief, but it usually costs us our momentum the next morning.

I have been experimenting with a sober curious approach to understand the "why" behind these habits. By making small tactical adjustments to how we find connection and rest, we can stop the cycle of starting over.

I broke down the tools that are helping me stay consistent in my latest article.

Send a message to learn more

03/24/2026

Using scissors has been a goal for over two years. It’s been a big focus in his ABA therapy, but for a long time he wanted nothing to do with it.

We’ve had a lot of starts and stops, and most attempts would turn into a struggle. So we kept working on it, but also gave him time and tried not to force it.

Seeing him sit down on his own and start cutting like this felt like a huge win for us. Moments like this don’t happen overnight.

If you’re a parent going through something similar, I know how much patience it takes.

03/20/2026

This is a simple breathing exercise called box breathing.

Inhale through your nose for 4 seconds, letting the breath expand into your belly. Hold for 4 seconds, then exhale slowly through your mouth for 4 seconds, and hold again for 4 seconds before the next breath.

This steady rhythm can help calm your nervous system, reduce stress, and bring your focus back, especially on those days when everything feels like it's piling up.

As dads, we carry a lot. Sometimes you just need a minute to reset.

Repeat the cycle as many times as you need, and come back to it anytime during the day when you want to reset.