To fully understand my passion and motivation for working with special needs families, I will share our story.

After completing a three year commitment as a Lieutenant in the United States Army in Nuremberg, Germany, I became a financial advisor in 1987. I experienced how comprehensive planning helped many families find financial independence and peace of mind.

In 1989, our family’s world changed dramatically when our son, Joseph was born. On his eighth day of life, he went into cardiac failure. He was diagnosed with a congenital heart defect. This began a life of open heart surgeries, hospital stays, doctor visits, NG tube feedings, and dispensing pharmaceuticals. His care was a family affair that included his two older sisters. He meant the world to us. On July 18, 1994, Joe died during his third open heart surgery. Our young family was devastated.

A year later we learned that we were expecting our fifth child, Carrie. Through prenatal ultrasound, she was diagnosed with a similar congenital heart defect. She faced her first open heart surgery when she was four months old. She has undergone multiple surgeries, hospital stays, a spinal cord injury, a traumatic brain injury, a pacemaker, and on and on. Through the love and support of her parents and her three older sisters she is a successful Occupational Therapy Assistant (CODA).

In 2006, I learned about MassMutual’s SpecialCare program and how I could help make a difference in the lives of individuals with disabilities and other special needs and their families. When I shared what I had learned with my wife, Pam, she stated, “I wish there would have been someone like that when we were going through those difficult times.” That thought has motivated me ever since.