I'm Alec lace. Welcome to First Class fatherhood. Welcome everybody to episode 280 in the podcast. I am happy as always to be here with you. Thank you for stopping by if this is your first time listening to a podcast. Please get over there and bang that subscribe button. You do not want to miss all the action that's coming your way right here on First Class fatherhood. All right dad's it is time for another frog man Friday edition of first-class fatherhood. We are coming off a little bit of a layoff here due to my interview with Dana White airing last Friday, but Frogman Friday returns today with an awesome guest retired Navy SEAL, Jeffrey. Joins me on the podcast today. Jeff is up in Alaska where he moved after his military service to pursue a dog mushing career. That's right. The former Navy SEAL is now a dog musher in Alaska. How cool is that? He is also a fairly new father who had to overcome a difficult situation right out of the gate. For those of you who follow Jeff on Instagram at Frozen Trident, you know the story for those that don't Jeff Reed will be here with me in just a few minutes. So please stick around for the interview. And Jeff Reed is the 40th Navy SEAL that I've had the honor of interviewing right here on First Class father. Hood I can't even begin to explain how cool that is for me to say that doesn't include the gold star parents of Navy SEALs that I've been blessed to speak with on the show as well back on episode 72 of the podcast. I was joined by Karen and Believe on Whose Navy SEAL Team Six son. Aaron Vaughn was killed in Extortion 17. Aaron was one of the few seals to get his name up on the evolution wall that reads first time every time and this past Memorial Day. I had the honor of interviewing Larry Brown on episode. 208. Larry is the gold saw father of Adam Braun who had one of the most unlikely journey to becoming a Seal Team 6 Operator the book about his life written by Eric blame titled Fearless is one of the greatest books I've ever read in my life. So the put it into words here how grateful I am to have spoken to all these Navy Seals would be impossible their mindsets are incredible and it's just awesome to get a chance to listen to them speak about fatherhood and family life. They are the best of the best that I am so proud as an American that we have men such as the US Navy Seals. All right, and Monday is Veterans Day and I'm putting out an awesome collection of interviews in one special edition podcast episode, including two Navy Seals, two marines and two Army Special Forces. All fathers don't miss out on that one, and please help me spread the word about this podcast every father in your neighborhood or in your contact list, let them know about the show that celebrates fatherhood and family life fatherhood rocks Family Values Rule and every day is Father's Day right here with me and I'm going to be right back with retired Navy SEAL, Jeff Reed. I'm Alec lace and you're listening to First Class fatherhood. Dads, are you tired of taking supplements that never deliver? Well redcon one was created to ensure that you get real hard core products that deliver Real Results trusted by four-time world strongest man, Brian Shaw and founded by supplement entrepreneur Aaron cinnamon redcon one is crushing the industry. You have to try their MRE bars which are packed full of nutritious food sources that will replenish your system when you need it most and they taste so good. Your toddler will think they're eating a candy bar. But we're talking to Whole Food meal replacement and right now first class fatherhood listeners, Can save 20% on their entire order from redcon one simply use the promo code father at the checkout. So let's go dads for the highest state of Readiness choose. Redcon one visit redcon one.com use the promo code father and save 20% All right, and joining me now is a first-class father. He is a veteran who served with the elite United States Navy SEAL Teams. He has since moved up to the great state of Alaska where he started a sled dog kennel and now holds the title of musher. It is an honor for me to say Jeff Reed. Welcome to First Class fatherhood. Thanks, Alex. Appreciate you having me. All right. Let's start here. How many kids do you have? How old but I just got one kid some I knew dad and as Atlas, he's almost 12 weeks. He's born on July 30th and congratulations. Did you know guys know what you have in ahead of time that you do like in gender reveal or you found out when he was born? No, we knew what we were having head time. Okay, we got we're able to prepare and get his nursery and everything set up for boy. Boy came up. Yeah, we got the you know ahead of time. So we had a whole name the name Atlas plan. We had just his nursery set up ahead of schedule. Okay. Yeah, I thought maybe you you blew up a snowman there and found out there was pink or blue snow inside and stuff like that. Now we didn't do it like a general review or anything like that. All right Jeff. If you could just please take a minute here to hit my listeners with a little bit about your background and what you do? Okay. Yeah. Guess my story kind of begins in Pennsylvania. I was born in Altoona Pennsylvania played Sports in high school. I went to the same high school that both my parents. To I started dating Jerry which is my wife. Now when we were in seventh grade, I work for her dad who owned a who still runs a small dairy farm in the area and I bailed hay for him when I was 10 years old started dating Jerry roughly around when I was 12 years old and we stayed together all through high school. And then when I went on I decided to join the Navy shortly after I graduated I went into boot camp short finished. Boot camp went into buds came out of buds want the team for did one deployment the team for came back. Me and Jerry end up getting married did another deployment team for came back got a diff got orders to the training Detachment became the land Warfare instructor and then I decided to get out of the Navy right around the time. My wife was finishing up school. And that's whenever we wanted to kind of get into the whole dog much. Thing so we moved up to Alaska. I got a job working for Ali's Urkel and Alan Moore Ali's Urkel. It was a Yukon Quest champion and a three-time second place Iditarod finisher. And Alan Moore is a three-time Yukon Quest champion, and I got a job working for them my first year up in Alaska and that's kind of how I learned how to dog be a dog musher and then shortly after that that next that next summer. We moved into our place and Frozen. And I didn't count on was born and here we are now with twenty seven dogs. Yeah. Wow, that's incredible. Jeff to just you know, that's awesome to see that your relationship has lasted, you know for so long. I know that so many people that serve in your community there. They have trouble with family life and holding it together like that just because of the you know, the demands of your job, so that's awesome. And I know that now Atlas is more not listen. I understand, you know, how nerve-racking it can be my wife and I we suffered through multiple miscarriages and you know, all her pregnancies were high risk, but I never Anything like you had to go through with Atlas when he was born. So walk me through the events of his birth in the first few weeks. Yeah. So when he was born he was he was definitely the small he was five pounds five ounces and so he had to be monitored for the first couple of days and and just to keep it as wait up and everything. But yeah, everything went good. After after that. We left the hospital came home. Everything was going good. And then I want out of one morning everything perfectly healthy, baby. Baby, whenever I woke up in the morning went out and did some chores in the dog yard came back in and he was really like starting to get fussy. And so Gary went and took my wife went and took his temperature and it came back. It was a little bit high but nothing like crazy. She took it again and it was starting to climb. It was higher than the last time I was about took it again in like 30 minutes later. So she she's a physician assistant and the emergency departments that she kind of knows the Calling like one you need to bring people into the emergency room when you don't so she was like we need to go and the thing it was alarming about this is that he had a fever but with no symptoms. So there was nothing to really go off of and I think she knew that it was probably going to be meningitis just from that and that's actually what and when they did the work of they did a spinal tap and they sound and section in a spinal fluid and in his blood so they start him on IV antibiotics. Antibiotics and his temperature still continue to increase so they added Tylenol to try to combat the fever. Tylenol didn't really help and he was maxed out on the Tylenol and the antibiotics weren't helping so because he was kind of on maxed out on support and not really being able to add anything else. Jerry's thought. It'd be best at it we would get Of act to Anchorage where they be able to maybe do more if he does start to deteriorate so that being said once they were going to Life Flight him to Anchorage. I went back to the kennel because I still had to take care of the dogs. I couldn't just leave them back here and only one person could go with Atlas anyway, so Jerry went with Atlas to Anchorage and while she was flying to Anchorage Atlas started having seizures on the on the airplane. Jerry took a video of it to show the doctor so they were they could see what was going on and the doctors like yeah, it looks like he's having seizures and they did a CT scan whenever they got the Anchorage and showed that there was possibly like a stroke in his brain on they like the back right side of his brain and but they needed to do an MRI to confirm that and because he was having seizures. They couldn't really put him into the into the machine and where I machine so The first day she was there the seizures kept coming and kept coming and the the doctor came in and told her that because of the blood and infection and the spinal infection and his high fever and now that the fact that he is starting to have seizures on top of this and he's not getting better despite all efforts. He was going to have to overcome the odds just To survive. Jerry called me that night and pretty and told me to get my ass down to Anchorage. However, I get however to I could do it so luckily. I have a great family back home and my dad came up here to take care of the dogs is I went down to Anchorage that first night. I got in Anchorage it was so it was terrible because I got there and he started he continued to have seizures and but this time he's started going at Nick where he wasn't breathing during a seizures. And as a father you doing all that just sitting there watching your kids suffering like that and having seizures and there's absolutely nothing you can do. It's terrible. It was the worst thing ever in each. See I just sat there for pretty much two days and watched Atlas seized up and go apnic and have to get CPAP to keep his oxygen levels up I was going in like a dark place there for a while because I thought this is retribution for all the terrible things I've done and and so I started this kind of prisoner in my own mind and just wasn't really starting to get kind of angry, you know about the situation angry with God and and I was in a dark place and that's whenever Sean rhyme a buddy Sean posted that video out there saying that we need help and yet the end up with a big deal for us too because we we wanted to protect Atlas from social media as much as possible. So like we talked before atlases even born and we didn't want any real pictures of him up on social media. They don't want expose them out that world too young and just the fact that we had to do that just showed the desperation that we just we needed prayers and Good Vibes the very least and and once that happened once Shawn made that video my sister my hometown had this beautiful prayer service it just the room and that Lifted and he started the seizures started to not happen as frequently his fever started to break and then next thing you know, he was starting to suck on a pacifier and then he went back to breastfeeding and and came came out of his sickness. The one thing that did that they did discover so he got he got stable enough to get the MRI the MRI did show that he had a stroke in the back right part of his brain. It was a pretty significant size. Stroke, but we're not going to be able to know the damage that that stroke caused until he gets old enough to meet his developmental Milestones. So like when he starts walking and talking and the good thing about that is the location of where the stroke happened in his back right part of the brain because that doesn't control Behavior or personality. It's more of your speech and your fine motor skills. So that's a blessing right there. But yeah, we've been back now and he's been doing everything a 12 week old baby should be doing you know, he's laughing at you. He's smiling. He's I mean he's doing great and that's incredible Jeff and I did I mean I've course I've seen the post are and I had my prayers with you and your family there just because you know being you know, young father and having to go through that. Well, how was your own wife during all of this? But how is her health? Did you have any complications? And how does he hold up? But during this whole thing did so during the the birth and everything her health was great the pregnancy. She's like she's a she's a rockstar. She did awesome and then throughout this whole the whole ordeal with Atlas whenever he was at his worst. She was a rock there too. She was she was strong. She I mean she's an amazing woman and she's she's very she's a badass woman. She's awesome. Yeah, that's cool. One of these I guess I would worry about myself like moving to some place up like where you are is something like hospitals and and pediatricians especially when you start having kids. So how do you feel about like, he has their pediatricians close by you or do you have to go very far? And do you have one that you trust right now? Hey Dad's, are you looking to boost your energy level Strike Force energy has got you covered with a strike force energy packet, you can turn any beverage into an energy drink their original energy packets contain no sugar. No calories, just an explosion of energy and flavor added to any beverage Strike Force energy is veteran-owned and all their products are made right here in the United States co-founded by Navy SEAL. Sean Matson Strike Force energy blows away the energy drink competition right now first class fatherhood listeners can save 15% off their purchase by visiting Strikeforce energy.com and using the promo code fatherhood Strike Force energy turns any beverage into an energy drink get yours today Strikeforce energy.com promo code fatherhood. All right, guys, many of you have hit me up saying that you would like to start your own podcast and I am telling you right now anchor is the easiest way to get this done. Number one. It's free. I have never paid a dime to publish any of my podcasts and their creation tools allow you to record and edit right from your phone or your computer anchored those all the distribution as well. So it can be heard on Spotify Apple podcast and many more also you can make money with no minimum. Listen to Ship its Thing you need to make a podcast in one place. What are you waiting for download the free anchor app today or go to Anchor dot f m-- to get started. How do you feel about like the as your pediatricians close by you or do you have to go very far? And do you have one that you trust right now? Yeah with their so there's a pediatrician here in Fairbanks that we go to in Fairbanks is about 45 minutes away from the kennel, but we're because of his stroke that he had in his and the damage to his brain. He needs to see a pediatric pediatric neurologist and that's an Anchorage and from what I've been told that there's only one and he's on the the Age of retirement so with that so that's there's not too many as far specialty doctors like that up here and we will be traveling to Anchorage at least monthly to get checkups for him down there. Wow. Okay. Yeah, that's that's incredibly honest. You know what the pic on Instagram there that you you know you reading him books and stuff like that. What what type of books do you read them? You still reading to him every night. What is the bedtime routine look like for you when you're trying to put him asleep? So yes. So right now we're reading Jack car jack cars first book and yeah right now we're reading a terminal list and that's like that series and after we're done with the terminal list will read True Believer then after that. Yeah, I've had Jack on the show man. He's incredible he wanted to do. Yeah. Yeah, I've had them on. Yeah, he's great. Now what are the what are like, they continued concerns that you have right now for him to be sure that he's in the clear. How long did they say like this process of having to go to the pediatric neurologist is going to happen is it's going to be to a certain age or is it going to be indefinite? Yeah. It's a it's a it's a waiting game now to see what what the so there's a chance that he may not have any disabilities and there's a chance that he could have some severe disabilities and it's just going to be a waiting thing to see how he develops and where he's That as far as the curve and as for Glory that without like other kids his age, so it's all going to be where he's at in his milestones and we're not so it could be it could be two when he starts walking and talking and stuff is animal really know the I guess the damage that the stroke is caused. And while we're waiting for that we're going to we meet we have a occupational therapist that comes out to the house and works with him and stuff like that. So so we are trying that we're staying ahead of it making sure that that any symptom that we see we're catching early and and addressing it as we need and that's cool and and definitely like your experience, you know, like a father by fire here like you got thrown right into the mix it has there been anything aside from obviously all this stuff that's going on anything unexpected about being a dad that you've had here early on. Yeah, just other than the the health scare their that happened man. I'm being a father's been amazing. It's it is one of those things that you know, you hear people talking about how its life changing and everything and you kind of just like yeah, I'm Jordan like to see little babies and her they're great. I mean, I'll always love babies and I was before I had one and and but you could always had them off and get rid of but whenever you have one of your own, it's amazing. It's really it's I don't even know how to Really describe it. It makes you want to do be better at everything for them and and to learn more things that teach them it makes you just beat want to be a better person. Yeah, very well said and now has any of your Navy SEAL training helped you prepare for them long nights with the newborn. Yeah, that's just the grind there. That's just got get yourself out of bed. And you know, you know, sometimes you may not want to just forcing yourself saying and then also the discipline thing. I mean, that's just Being disciplined getting out of bed when you need to and and that's that's something that you sent in the example. Not that snowball into everyday life to that you can see and how about how did the head of the dogs? How are they around your son? And how did your son take to the dogs all there? They're awesome. We started off with Eleanor who's our pet dog by bringing in his blanket whenever he was first born and then she loved that. She like laid down and rolled all over it. And then because she's our pet dog and inside every night. She would she she was with him. She followed him and every room that he went into as far as the other dogs are slick the sled dog. The team dogs go we bring it. We're bringing in three of them each night at the to meet him and they've been awesome. They they're very curious but they're very they're very curious but they're very sweet with them at the same time. And Eleanor is so protective of them that if she even And choose any like any like dogs licking him too hard or trying to lick them and she'll run over there and like push them away from it. It's pretty funny. Very cool. What was the Genesis of you getting interested in the imagery? Like all the wild when you were a kid where how long has this been like stirring in you that you were interested in doing this but man, I liked I think I read Gary Paulsen when I was in like sixth grade seventh grade, and that was how I first like heard a sled dogs, And then when I was in the SEAL Teams, my first employment. I rescued a dog Frank over there and that started my love for dogs. I never had a dog when I was a kid and we mean Frank at such an awesome Bond and part of it was probably the time that we spent in Afghanistan and the fact that I smuggled him home and then whenever he was home, he became my service dog. And then I be as long as an instructor we traveled around the East Coast together different training sites and and Had an awesome Bond. He was hit by a car and killed months. I would say three months before I was actually get it separating from the Navy and when he died it was when he was hit by the car. It was left a big void because he he was one of my best friends at the and and losing him was tough. So I want about a year after that without having a dog and I just really was like something I just felt like that Bond was so rare with Frank that it wasn't even worth trying to renew with another dog. And then then I the idea of the Iditarod came back to me and sled dogs and like wolf you're going to have that bond that special strong bond with a dog those situations. You are out there in the wilderness and stuff. Like that's that's how you get it. So that's kind of when this that's how that idea started Rolling In My Head. And I started I pitched it to Jerry and then she's a crazy dog lady too. And she's she just wanted a reason an acceptable reason to own $27 and not be crazy. So she was automatically on board. And yeah, so then that just kind of led to us moving up to Alaska. Yeah, that's awesome, man. And I know I had a Mike ritland on the show earlier. There are two while back, you know, he does the canine training. Was that something that you ever were interested in doing in the SEAL Teams or just came through bait towards your answer at the end. Yeah something I really wanted to do in the SEAL Teams in right after my second deployment the Seal team doll the doll program at the SEAL Teams kind of switched into a platoon and internal platoon thing instead of its own Detachment. Anyway with that be that being said, it's I was going to a training side and not I wasn't going to be in a platoon anymore that kind of shift sailed and then understand when I decided to get out. Yeah, I kind of I still like I Still Love Dogs wanted to work with dogs and and actually now that you brought Mike. I've talked to Mike a couple times and gotten pick his brain about training advice on how to fix some dogs appear and how to better my training program up here Mike's an awesome hand. Yeah, he was incredibly well spoken to you. I had him on quite a while ago. And as far as like what is the what's the plan moving forward here? What kind of goals are plans you have considering having any more children know what the plans? Yeah, I'm sure I'm sure we'll have some more children mean we don't want Atlas to be an only child. Not that there's anything wrong with that but I have a brother and two sisters and I had very close with my siblings and can't imagine not having them. So that's kind of want to have probably definitely have another one. Try to have another one and then the future for the kennel here for this year. It's because of you know, kids can change change things up quite a bit. It's going to put a little bit of a hold on our racing plans. But this this winter we got planned to do some Expeditions out and I just have fun with the dogs really and spend more time at home with the family and help Jerry out around the house and spend time with Alice because these are times that you never get back. Yeah, yeah, well said, yeah and I know you know, I'm sure it's a lot of struggle. I mean, I know your song is obviously very young for this yet. But a lot of us dad's, you know, we we compete with this technology. It's nuts with the kids with the iPads and the iPhones you're out there, you know doing the Wilderness thing and like basically free technology area is technology have a big influence out there. Do you have the Wi-Fi and the iPads and all that stuff? Yeah. Well that's out. There. We the nice thing that can save us out where we're at is our internet is super slow. So and we could only have one device connected to the internet of the time. I'll send you can't load anything. So P start spending too much time on the internet down the road or I'll just log on and hog the internet that way he can have it. What do you recommend as a new dad? Like then I see the amount of data that you've talked to the amount of first class that you've talked to what's your advice on that? Well, we got to use the technology is like a form of currency here really to kind of motivate them to do things. Is that they otherwise wouldn't necessarily want to do like certain chores around the house or mesma the older ones whether it be taking their sister younger sister or their brother somewhere something that they maybe wouldn't want to do will dangle a carrot of the technology in front of them and then they'll do just about anything in order to get like an hour of that screen time, but during the school year. It's a no-go, you know, especially during the week. So it's a struggle because it's what all their friends are doing. Everybody is on the Fortnight. Everybody is on the you know, social media and stuff like that. So I'm still learning the best way to kind of handle it myself. I didn't grow up with all the technology. We had the Nintendo and stuff like that. But this is it's a new it's a new ball game for all of us. And well, I'm trying to adapt and take little bits of information from all the dads that I can and see how they're handling it. Yeah, absolutely into like the whole cyber bullying thing is a whole different can of worms right there, too. Yeah, and you know Craig Sawyer has been good. I had him on the show to he's been pretty good because he's involved with that events for child rescue and he always posts like certain little things that the kids are getting into certain apps to watch out for how the hiding their Communications especially like. My oldest just became a teenager. He's in eighth grade. So he's just on the cusp of all of that stuff. So, you know, they have these fences these fake Instagram account. So this is one you think that they're using but they're really using another one. So they're pretty sharp when it comes to all the technology and they got one up on us. So you got to try to really investigate and stay on top of the best he can oh, yes. Yes. Well last thing I want to hit you would hear Jeff. I love to ask all the dads that I get on the podcast. I'm curious to hear yours. You're a fairly new father hear yourself. What type of advice do you have for that new dad or for that about to be father? Who's out there listening? Oh man, that's being a new dad. I mean, all I can speak about is the first first couple first two months of it and I can say that goes fast and I can literally see my kid growing. So just take advantage of the time that you have with it and and try to stay in that moment because it doesn't last long and to help Mama Bear out as much as you can. Yeah, very well said I love you advice. God bless you and your family or first-class father all the way. I got to say Jeffrey. Thank you so much for give me a few minutes of your time on First Class. David is preciate you have me on here. It's great talking to you back to wrap things up here on first last fatherhood. I got to give a special. Thank you. Once again to Jeffrey for giving me a few minutes of his time here. It was such an honor. Please set me up on Twitter guys are dropping a I'm on Instagram. Let me know what you thought about today's episode. I always love to read your feedback. That's all I got for you guys this week lock it in next week. I'm going to kick off the week with a Veterans Day special. I got six interviews that I'm dropping on you to Navy Seals including the Lone Survivor Marcus Luttrell and Rob O'Neill two marines John take Tegan and Dakota Meyer and to Army Special Forces Sean Parnell and Mike Duran. Don't miss out on that and more follow me on Instagram at Alec on the scoreless for all the upcoming guest announcements. I'm Alec lace. Thank you for listening to First way is fatherhood. And please remember guys We are not babysitters. We are fathers and we're not just father's we are first class fathers.
Episode 280 Jeff Reid is a First Class Father and Retired Navy SEAL who relocated to Alaska with his wife after his military service to start a family and pursue the dream of becoming a Dog Musher. Jeff and his wife experienced a troubling situation as new parents when their newborn son, Atlas began having seizures shortly after they brought him home from the hospital. In this Episode, Jeff shares his Fatherhood journey, he talks about the terrifying circumstances he found himself in as a new father, he describes his wife’s bravery and reaction during the ordeal, he talks about the road ahead for his son and his future family plans, he tells us about life as a Dog Musher which includes 27 dogs, he offers some great advice for other new or about to be Dads and more! 