Affiliate Leader Focus: Tom Madsen, Co-Affiliate Leader of Helping Fathers Heal and Brazil & Kevin's Dad

Kevin with an American flag (that is the cover of 'Relentless - From Both Sides of the Veil')

Mama's Fish House in Maui four weeks before Kevin passed, Kevin, Tom & Lene

Our Healing Journey - Lene and Tom Madsen

Our oldest son, Kevin, passed in 2018 after a three-year battle with cancer. Kev was a warrior, but after surgery, three chemos, and radiation, he just had nothing left with which to fight.

Lene and I were in fetal positions for six months. Then we went to a "grief circle," which met weekly. But we were having experiences that most of the other parents in the circle were not. So we drifted away.

During this period, we sought healing from mediums, books on spirit, writing (I wrote about Kevin and our family's journey with cancer in the book 'Relentless - From Both Sides of the Veil') and spending time in nature.

Then Lene experienced a series of synchronicities that culminated in a YouTube presentation by Suzanne Giesemann. In that video, Suzanne mentioned HPH. On further research, Lene learned that at that time, HPH did not have a San Francisco chapter. She enlisted the help of another mom (Beverly Wilson) we knew from the former grief group, and together they started the SF Bay Area Chapter of HPH in 2019. At the first meeting, we had four couples. Today, the membership of that chapter is more than 100.

Healing others heal helped us. The SF HPH chapter took off. We loved it, and we forged loving bonds with a couple of dozen parents. The sense of community and support dialed up the energy beyond belief in the room we used each month. We cried, we laughed, we lifted each other up.

In 2020, I learned about Helping Fathers Heal. HFH supercharged my healing journey. These men are angels on Earth. I love them all and call them brothers.

In 2021, Lene and I decided to move to Brazil, to her hometown. We handed off the leadership of the SF Bay Area HPH chapter to Tom and Trucco Jong.

After the move to Brazil, Lene sought permission to establish a Brazil chapter of HPH. Elizabeth and Irene approved it. We made a recruiting push that first year (2022), but we bumped up against a cultural resistance. But we haven't given up. We're here to break down barriers, and we'll reactivate the recruiting and marketing efforts soon.

~Tom Madsen