This Father's Day, one central Virginia father's fight for his son has family friends calling on the community for support.
Jeffery Dodson has been trying to get his 25-year-old son in-home care, but has faced obstacles from state and local agencies. His son, Joey, is battling a form of muscular dystrophy that requires around-the-clock attention.
"He's on the ventilator at night, and out of the 24-hour period, he's on the ventilator about 16 hours," explained Dodson.
He has been fighting red tape to get a nurse to provide in-home care for his son, but for years, he has run into staffing issues.
"Medicaid gives you a long list of agencies, but a lot of them just come 15 minutes and visit you and don't come back until next week. We don't need that. We need somebody to do the hourly thing," explained Dodson.
He has been unable to work outside of the home or run everyday errands so he can care for his son.
"The last agency we [were] with, we started with them in April, and out of the last 60 days I've been by myself the last 48. So they're just not staffing them," he explained.
Neighbors and friends like Carolyn Strong, Jeffery and Joey's landlord, have chipped in to help.
Strong said of Dodson, "I want to honor this man because there are not many people who would be like him."
If you would like to learn more about Joey's story you can reach the family at 540-219-5951
