Rob Carver: It's been said that life is 10 % of what happens to you and 90 % on how you deal with it. It's also been said that there's only two things in this world that you can control, your effort and your attitude. Before we meet today's guests so that we can keep this channel rolling and you can keep meeting amazing professionals, make sure you please push the subscription button as well as the notification bell. Well, today you're in for a treat. You're going to hear from and be inspired by a young man. who nearly lost his life in an automobile accident. Mr. Connor Hook, welcome to the Pro Talk Podcast. How are you, buddy? Connor Hook: Yeah, absolutely. You know, it's been going good. I'm feeling good. You know, another day in life, right? Rob Carver: Yeah, yeah, it's all we're promised, right? We were talking before we started recording here that I knew you when you were a youngster. I used to coach your dad in tennis and you remembered running around on the court, picking up the balls with the ball tubes. Connor Hook: ⁓ yeah, always promise one more day. Mm-hmm. Oh, oh, yeah, and I was talking with my dad the other day I was like I'm gonna be on coach Rob's podcast and he he I didn't even have to explain who coach Rob was he knew and But the funny thing is I brought it up with my mom I told him I was like I'm gonna be on coach Rob's podcast My mom's like who's coach Rob and I was like I was like mom if I can remember you can remember I have the memory of a squirrel sometime. So she should Rob Carver: you ⁓ my goodness. Ha ha ha. Connor Hook: She should know Coach Rob as someone significant in the family's lives, if I remember. Rob Carver: Yeah. Karen's one of my Penn State buddies. So there you go. Yeah, so that's I will let her pass. I mean, it's been a while. So Captain Hook is what I used to call your dad. And I told my wife and I said, you remember Captain Hook? And she goes, yeah, the big tall guy said, yeah, on Sunday nights at five o'clock. No. Well, give him my best for me. So I don't know all the details. So why don't you just start about was it August 6th, 2024? Connor Hook: ⁓ yeah, that's right. Yep. It was August 5th of 2024, only a day off. That was good. But I was just driving to work. was living out in Brenham, Texas with my now ex-fiance. You know, she lived on a campsite because she worked at the camp. So it made more sense for me to move out there than her move into or like closer to me because, you know, she Rob Carver: Okay. Connor Hook: free rent, right? know, things like that. And so I was driving to work, which was in Cypress, Texas. So about an hour away, you know, I've made, I made the drive many times before and randomly, like while I was driving highway going about 70 miles per hour, I had my deja vu feeling as I call it. It's an aura and I have epilepsy and I know when I have the aura, a grand mall seizure is going to be coming. And so when I had it, I started pulling over to the side because, know, tip, sometimes I have them. Sometimes I don't like what the grand mall aspect, but to be safe, I wanted to pull over to the side. And while I was pulling over, I had the grand mall and six may probably 65 miles per hour right into the right into like the guardrail or whatever's in the middle and went into the ditch and everything and I got got helicoptered all the way to the hospital and yeah I shattered my leg like into a million pieces like if you look on the x-rays I am I'm basically a robot with my leg basically a robot Rob Carver: Hmm. Now, do you remember gaining consciousness, the impact and... Connor Hook: I don't remember the impact, but I remember regaining consciousness and I was underneath, at least I was partially underneath some of the wreckage and because of adrenaline I actually pulled myself out of the wreckage which was a big mistake of mine because that actually ⁓ gave me a bad infection in my leg as well and I had to be in the hospital even longer because of that, but... Rob Carver: So it's exposed and then as you're dragging, ⁓ Connor Hook: Yeah. And then, ⁓ the last thing I remember, like after I came out of the seizure, I was in the wreckage and everything got put on the airplane helicopter. That's what they put me on. You know, I was with the people and I specifically remember I was making the people in the helicopter laugh because I was just, you know, I'm normally just a goofy person. I was just like, ⁓ crap. Something happened. I guess, like I was just cracking jokes. And then I remember just going like, Rob Carver: Yeah. Connor Hook: out so I can say I'm just lucky I am so lucky because the next thing I remember I woke up and I was in a hospital bed Rob Carver: Okay. Right. Now, OK, we'll get into the number of surgeries, but did they put you into surgery right away when they got to hospital? Had you been in surgery and then woke up? Connor Hook: They put me into surgery right away. I came to, I was actually... had already had surgery. Like I woke up and my arm was in a cast. Somewhat of a cast. More like a brace. My whole leg was just in the immobilizer and covered and everything. Like... It was rough. And I was also in a neck brace. Thankfully nothing happened. Rob Carver: You didn't even want to look. Yeah. Connor Hook: with my neck and things like that, but you know, they're always worried about it. And I think I still have some scars. I call them my joker scars because they're like right, they're like right there, but you know, it didn't look pretty. Rob Carver: Yeah. Yeah. All right, so it's at the next day when you wake up or that day of the accident. Connor Hook: I think it was the same day, if I'm remembering correctly. I it was the same day because I was driving to work in the morning. It could have been next day. can't... I'm trying to remember because I wasn't able to contact anybody in my family for a little bit. I couldn't even contact them because I lost my phone in the accident. ⁓ Rob Carver: Yeah. Yeah. I gotcha. Yeah. Yeah. Isn't that crazy? In this world? It's like, where's what's the phone number? I don't know. It's in my phone. Connor Hook: The one number I remembered was my mom's. That's the funny thing. Because I remember when my parents moved to Maryland, my dad changed his number to a Maryland number. Never had that one memorized. Never did. Rob Carver: Wow. Okay. Yeah. That's crazy what a society we have these days that we don't like back in the good old days, we knew everybody's phone number, all your friends and everything else. And wow, I'm not sure I even know my kids' phone numbers. Connor Hook: And one of the funniest things that ended up happening, I don't know how or what or whatever, you know, they ended up finding everything from the wreck. Like they found my wallet, they found my phone, and I think they found the keys that I had. And all of that, they found that. The only thing that was missing from what was on my person was my driver's license. And I had no idea and I was just like, I'm pretty sure I probably gave it to someone in the helicopter or something like that. I was like, how did it come out? Cause I have one of those wallets that you have to click a button for it to come out. But I don't think anyone's trying to steal my identity. I think they would do that if they stole a debit card or credit card. Like I was so confused. So. Rob Carver: All right, yeah. Okay. Right, yeah, what do you do with that? Well, you know what I think? It must have been. It was on the 6th that you mentioned on Facebook that you were in an accident. There's a great message on that your dad tagged you. If I can read it, ⁓ it said this guy is one of the toughest people I know. He's fortunate to be alive and proof that God is watching over him. That was what your dad message you are put on Facebook and you know. Connor Hook: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Rob Carver: You mentioned, mean, throughout your ordeal, I've been inspired by you because instead of this why me crap of I shouldn't say crap, but it's like you could. I mean, you've gone through so much that everybody would understand that you could feel jaded soon after your accident. think a couple of days after you said, ⁓ after three days, three surgeries, I'm blessed to be alive. What an amazing perspective right away. Connor Hook: One of the biggest things, because I had to go through a ton of my own therapy for things that happened in the past, growing up and during call my undergrad at Baylor, things like that, I improved with my brain health and stuff. And if I didn't have that, I don't think my mindset would have been the way that it was, because I used to take so many things for granted. I used to have that woe is me type of mindset because I just like, well, it's all downhill from here, you know, type of thing. When you're laying in a hospital bed with a neck brace, your leg can't even bend, your leg is broken, your arm's broken, things like that. At the same time, I'm just like, life is, life is giving me another chance at the same time. Even though I like, was having a pretty good Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Connor Hook: life even before the accident but I was like well God wants me to be alive you know kind of a kind of a miracle type thing so Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. I love what you said there that through growing up and through college, some of the difficulties made you stronger. That's great. Connor Hook: Yeah, yeah, because one of the things that, you know, happened was, you know, I fell into drinking, you know, and, know, at 22, 23, I was badly drinking, like had a bad breakup, like even in college. And the first thing that I did, I went and grabbed like 24 beers and just downed them all. Like that's one of the very first things I did. And that started becoming an everyday thing because I wanted to block out. Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Connor Hook: You know, all pain, everything. And then, you know, it kept going and my parents ended up giving me basically an ultimatum eventually, you know, get your mental health under control, get your drinking under control or you're done. You know, and I was already going through, you know, mental health treatment, things like that, but none of it was sticking. So the last chance like Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Connor Hook: My parents really, especially I would say with my dad, like of course my mom's words stuck with me and stuff. But when I hear my dad say like, this is your last chance or we're done, because my dad doesn't really, I guess, speak up as much as my mom. My mom is very vocal. My dad is very silent. So it like hit me when he says that it's like, ⁓ goodness, I better shape up. When the six foot seven man speaks up. Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Right. Right. Yeah. Yeah. Connor Hook: you're kind of like, whoa. But that's why I moved to Houston to begin with was for mental health treatment. And one of the big things was also my anger. I had a really tough time controlling my anger. And we found out it was because of one of my epilepsy medications too. The side effect is Kepra rage. That's what they call it. it's a Kepra is a medication for epilepsy. Rob Carver: Yeah. Yeah. ⁓ wow. Connor Hook: The side effect of it, or one of the big ones is anger, rage. I was on 3000 milligrams of that thing, that medication a day. 3000 milligrams. And basically the outpatient program I was in basically told me like, if I don't calm my anger down, you're out. Because I was ticked all the time. You could say hello to me and I'd tell you to shut up. Rob Carver: 3,000. Mm-hmm. You Connor Hook: Like it was that bad. And then I went to go see a neuropsychologist through like through the hospital my IOP was through. And he looked at me he's like, you struggle with anger? And I was just like, I gave him like an F off kind of look. I was just like, yeah. And he was like, and you're on 3000 milligrams of Keppra? And I was like, yeah. He's like, all right, we're taking you off that and switching. Rob Carver: you Okay. Connor Hook: you over to a new medication, which is actually a mood stabilizer and I'm still on it today. Next day, the IOP thought I was manic because I came in in such a good mood because I was tapered so much off of it. And then all the therapy started to kick in. You know, I started taking it seriously compared to all the other times like I had gone through therapy. So that's where I kind of learned like this whole mindset. Rob Carver: Unbelievable. Right. Mm-hmm. Connor Hook: was, you know, that really like when you think about it, I shouldn't be here even before the car accident. I really shouldn't have been. Rob Carver: Yeah. Now, okay, so if you could tell everybody what your profession is now, because I'm guessing you know a lot about the medication that was prescribed to you and that the big pharma without telling you, well, potential side effects, well, no, it's a direct effect, thank you. So what is your line of work? And then you can tell us about some of the stuff that you've learned through that. Connor Hook: Mm-hmm. Yeah, so now I am a licensed therapist here in Texas. You know, I decided, you know, when I was figuring out what I wanted to do while I was in the outpatient program I was in, you know, I was trying to figure out because my Baylor degree, like I almost don't count it just because I was a seize get degrees type person. I had no direction when I graduated. It was awful. Rob Carver: You Connor Hook: So I was like, you know, I talked to my parents. I was like, could I go back and get a second bachelor's? Because that's like, oh, I might want to go into law. Right. And so went back. It was nearing the end of my degree and you know, I had a 3.89 GPA with it and something like that. And it was all pre-law pre-law stuff. And I was thinking, Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Connor Hook: And I remember my therapist specifically telling me, she was like, you'd make an awful lawyer. And I kind of, I kind of looked and I was like, yeah, you're, you're kind of right. I probably would. And so I was thinking about social work. You know, I kind of changed, you know, courses. And then I remember my mom specifically saying you'd be an awful social worker. And I asked her why. And she's like, well, you're a six foot two, 280 pound. Rob Carver: Haha Connor Hook: man, you're going to be stuck on the front lines of CPS. Do you want to do that? And I was like, I could not do that. No. And then I can't, when I was talking with my therapist and my family kind of came into the discussion too, they were just like, why don't you go into being a therapist? Because I can apply what I have learned to help other people in the, that need the help. So it's like giving back to the community in a way. Rob Carver: Right. Great, yeah. Mm-hmm. Connor Hook: So, you know, that's how I ended up there and, you know, I enjoy it quite a bit, you know, so. Rob Carver: Good for you. I want to go back to, if you can ⁓ walk us through, if you don't mind. I've got 8 16 24. One of your quotes was I'm headed to rehab facility to learn to walk again. Kind of like a let's go get them. What's that feeling like? Cause I don't know many people that have, you know, we've had some surgeries, we've had bad days, know, aches and pains, but to look in the mirror and think, Today I got to learn how to walk again? How's that hit the body? Connor Hook: And that was 8-16-24? 2024? I stayed in the hospital for two more months. They told me I was gonna go to rehab at that time, but the infection in my leg kept getting, you know, coming back, going away, coming back, going away. Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. grave. Connor Hook: there still was more surgery and then I had to have more surgery for the infection, things like that. So eventually I got to the rehab facility, but they didn't do anything. They just let me lay there the entire time. was like the entire two weeks I barely even moved. Like. Rob Carver: Because you're unable or they were bad at what they did. Connor Hook: I think it was more they were bad at what they did. Yeah, so yeah, I mean, don't get me wrong. I still, you know, struggle with the walking aspect. I still use my wheelchair, but even even then, like. I don't know. mean, getting told that maybe you're going to get sent to rehab kind of was just like, okay, let's go. I'm ready to get back on my feet, which, you know, when I was told that I wasn't going, I mean, that's kind of sucked. But at the same time, you know, thank God for the seventh floor Memorial Hermann Hospital here in Houston. ⁓ They treated me so well. Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Connor Hook: You know, I also that to everybody out there listening, always treat your nurses well. Always, because then they'll love you. You'll get, you'll get special treatment a little bit. Rob Carver: That's good. They're seeing you every day, right? They're right there on the front lines. Connor Hook: They see me every day. Anytime I went back, would basically just all of them would come and see me right away. remember I was there on Valentine's Day. Is it this year? Yeah, I think it was this year I was there. Maybe it was last year. I'm trying to remember. I'm trying to get all my dates now because of everything being kind of crazy. But they brought me a flower for when I woke up. was like I woke up and there was a little flower next to my bed with Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Nice. Connor Hook: Happy Valentine's Day from the nursing staff. I know, pretty much. Rob Carver: Nice. I to them all. ⁓ Now, OK, I remember the football player Alex Smith, who had the very bad break in that story. And was it ever one of those things where, if we don't get this infection under control, what's the worst case scenario there? Connor Hook: And that's ⁓ they have told me multiple times and they did tell me that if the infection doesn't get under control, my leg is chopped, chopped off. And there's still a surgery that I do need. And it's basically like, what they would do is remove my knee cap and put a metal cage where the knee cap is because basically where my knee cap is, where my knee cap is currently. it's molded into the muscle. So now my leg can't bend because my kneecap is messed up. So the surgery that I would need is a removal. The issue with that is the infection that I originally got, the bacteria is attracted to metal. And that's why the infection was so originally bad for me is because now Rob Carver: Can't ban. Yeah. Connor Hook: All my leg is basically metal on on the inside like the bones are basically metal. My hip is pretty much metal like everything. So they're scared of going, you know, in there taking out the kneecap and replacing with the metal cage because they don't want the bacteria to come back and attack, you know, basically exposed muscle at that point, like really exposed muscle because Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Right. Connor Hook: If that happens, it might lead to my leg being amputated. Rob Carver: Is that something that the longer time goes by the better your chances? Connor Hook: it's kind of hard to say just because the bacteria might always technically be there. ⁓ and I say that like, because bacteria is an annoying thing, you know, all that. I just, take antibiotics every single day for it, a very strong one. ⁓ I think it's close to how much is this now? I never know. Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. Connor Hook: 3200 mg of antibiotics a day. ⁓ So pretty much, I would say like 99.99 % of the bacteria is just not in my body at the moment. It's just, know, when bacteria attacks something, it will multiply, multiply, multiply. But I actually talked to my infectious disease doctor the other day, and I hate the name infectious disease. I will go to my grave. Rob Carver: Yeah. Right. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Connor Hook: and say I hate the name of the doctor being infectious disease because my infection is not infectious. Like like all that. But I went and talked with her and she said, ⁓ yeah, the kneecap removal and kneecap replacement shouldn't be a problem. You're on so much, you know, back drum, which is the antibiotic that you could probably kill an elephant like. But so hopefully. Rob Carver: Yeah. Right. Yeah. Right. Connor Hook: you know that will come about and everything but. Rob Carver: Yeah. Well, not I have had a little experience. had a knee replacement a year ago yesterday, actually. And I'm just curious what the advances. Can they do something that's not metal? Connor Hook: I mean... Um, I think they could. It's just like, you know, being a young individual, you know, I'm 33, I think they'd be more nervous on giving me something that's not as, you know, not as sturdy, you know, as something because younger probably out doing a little bit more. I don't, I I don't know, you know, cause I don't do it much anymore. Uh, but Rob Carver: Right. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Connor Hook: I guess you could say probably a little bit more active when younger and things like that and you know those things wear out a lot quicker and things like that so if I had replaced yeah you know with all the technology and stuff out there so I have considered you know doing so but even my doc even my surgeons were just like you would probably want to go with you know the metal know replacements if you got it Rob Carver: Yeah. Sure. Well, with technology. Yeah. Connor Hook: The issue with that is they're metal and with the fact that they're, they're just scared of, you know, something like that. Rob Carver: Metal. Yeah, I got you. Yeah. Well, you know, I wrote down some of the things I went back through a lot of your comments that you put on social media, keeping your friends involved and so forth that. Yeah, like I could still hear you saying, OK, trick number one. And it was like you move from the bed to a chair. And throughout throughout your deal, it's like. Connor Hook: Yep. Rob Carver: All of us have nothing to complain about, you know, and like you, I'm sure you probably thought someone's worse. You mentioned on 11-4, you said, let me see what you said exactly. You were awaiting your 20th surgery to remove hardware. I interviewed an orthopedic surgeon and he was saying that the average American has nine surgeries in their lifetime. And I've counted mine, you know, wisdom teeth and three knee surgery said, like, okay, I'm only at four. So you started upping that average for the average American because you've to date, how many have you had? Connor Hook: To date on just my leg alone, it's been 32 Last last October though Yeah, two thousand twenty five I actually broke my hip on the same side as my leg so I had another surgery there so that's 33 and then I had multiple surgeries growing up to You know, I had my wisdom teeth Rob Carver: you Yeah. Connor Hook: Of course, my shoulder done twice. My knees already had been done. I'm losing count. I might have hit 40 surgeries as a 33 year old by this point. So it's kind of like, like when you told me so average nine surgeries, I was like, I might have bumped it up to nine point four or something like that at that point. Yeah. Rob Carver: Yeah. For the other 300 million of us, right? You ever complain to your parents? Hey, I got some bad DNA here. What's up with this? Yeah. Connor Hook: Well, the funny thing is, I think my sister had one knee surgery. My dad, of course, has had a couple and he had his knees replaced and things like that. And I think he has an operation coming up to repair the something went wrong with the knee replacement or something like that. I'm trying to remember exactly what he and my mom told me, but Rob Carver: Yeah. Connor Hook: You know, I have joked with many people, you know, I've had all the breaks and all the tears and, you know, the epilepsy, things like that. So I've joked that, you know, I got the recessive genes out of all of them. I've joked and called myself the black sheep of the family. But in reality, I take it as just like, I guess you can't, I guess you can call it bad luck or just wrong place, wrong time, things like that. Rob Carver: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Connor Hook: or freak accidents, I guess you can say. that would be, I would consider my car accident would be a freak accident. You know, things like that. Rob Carver: Yeah. Well, nobody nobody else was hurt. And, know, ⁓ and you weren't stupid. mean, it wasn't like a DUI and you killed somebody and, know. ⁓ Yeah, I mentioned I saw that that you you mentioned last October you fell and broke your hip and then you made a joke. Only four and a half days in the hospital. My shortest stay ever. Good work. Connor Hook: Correct. Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah, because I mean because let's see the first time when I got into the hospital after my accident I was there for a month and a half I think total and then when I had to go back for that hardware replacement because some of the metal was actually sticking up through my skin and It was just like what in the world and I went and showed my surgeries like yeah, we need to get you back into surgery ⁓ Rob Carver: Like now. Connor Hook: I think I was there for about three weeks, you know? ⁓ then when I went for my broken hip, you know, I was expecting, because I got nails, you know, put into my hip and everything. It looks hilarious on the x-rays and stuff like that, just because it's like, showed it to a friend. just like, the hip looks like an 80 year old. I'm like, that's mine. And they're just like, what in the world? Like, but. Rob Carver: Yeah. Yeah. Connor Hook: Yeah, like it was only a four and a half day stay because you know with the whole getting metal into the body with the infection stuff I was prepared to stay another like another month or so because you know that's been the history of everything but you know I was only there for four and a half days and I was like oh heck yeah give me the heck out of here I'm ready to go like Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Been in a hospital too long. You you mentioned your New Year's resolution. I thought this was funny. It's like, about walking? Connor Hook: Mm-hmm. Yeah, and you know, one of the things that I've, you know, it's not really self-deprecating, I would call it. It's more just, you know, I do poke fun at myself, like, and turn, you know, certain things that have happened into more of a comedic aspect of just like, you know, I'm in my wheelchair and, you know, my whole Monday night softball team, the team is called Brace Yourselves because Rob Carver: you Connor Hook: almost everybody on the team has had knee problems and stuff like that. So knee brace and we made new jerseys and they were just like, Connor, you have become the face of this Jersey. And when they held it up, it was the picture of a person in a wheelchair, you know, the symbols for the handicap parking. And I was just like, this is perfect. And of course my name had to be Hot Wheels on the back and the numbers double zero, you know. Rob Carver: Yeah. Right. Yeah. Right. Connor Hook: So it's kind of like turning a lot of things into a comedic point of view, I guess you could say. Because if you stay down on yourself about a lot... You know, you're gonna be really depressed, you know, and it's okay to be sad, of course, but, you know, finding the light side on things, you know, you can always at least try to do. So that's kind of like why, you know, why I was, you know, ⁓ hitting the nail on the head with, ⁓ you know, my shortest stay ever because I'm like, Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Connor Hook: Well, it has been, but the thing is, dear Lord, Connor, stay out of the hospital. But, but it's just like, you know what? get to go home. I get to go home and watch football from my chair. Rob Carver: Right. Yeah. Yeah, you're set. You're setting records only 4.5 days. Connor Hook: Yeah. Rob Carver: Now, you're talking about going through all this. Who are some of the people that that were supporting you because your parents aren't nearby? They're in Tennessee and you're in Texas. mean, you met you mentioned your softball team. I forgot to bring this up when you said that there's an awesome picture of you sitting in a wheelchair with the whole team around you. I thought that was awesome. And you got a great smile on your face here with the team. Connor Hook: Well... Yeah. Yep. So some of my biggest supports actually have been both of my parents. You know, I FaceTime with my mom almost every single day because she, you know, she worries about me. She's always been a worrywart, but that wouldn't trade her for any mom in the world. I can tell you that. But my mom does come down to visit, you know, a couple times each year. Rob Carver: Sure. Connor Hook: Things like that. My dad was actually recently here. What was it? Last week? Yeah, he was just here last week. Yeah, I had to make sure because I was just like, ⁓ crap. I was like, did I just forget when he was here? But no, he came last week. We went to two Astros games, you know, here in Houston. We got a brand new wheelchair for me. The one that I had was a rental and that thing was heavy. So we needed to just buy one. Rob Carver: Yeah. Okay. Right? Connor Hook: and get one lighter. The one that I got now is 25 pounds, you know, lighter. So, but no, my parents have still constantly been like the most supportive overall and they make time to come see me, you know, things like that, but I don't get to see them all that often. So the other other people that have been important for me to get through all this have been Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Connor Hook: you know, my friend group and without playing so much softball prior to my accident, I wouldn't have had a single, you know, friend, you know, my whole community. ⁓ Speaking of my dad, he decided to text. ⁓ But but ⁓ yeah, like I said, you know, with without the softball community, Lord knows what I'd be doing. You know, they would always stop by in the hospital. Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah. ⁓ It's awesome. Connor Hook: They come see me, you know, they'll pick me up to go to softball, things like that. But one of the big things that I learned through this all, and I had never thought about it before the accident because I was constantly around people, is it's okay to be alone sometimes. And one of things I had to learn was learn how to be alone because In reality, we're never going to always be around people. You know, that's just kind of how it is. But it also helped me appreciate just the world and like how I can just take time for myself because, you know, I gave my time to every person, every thing, never really took time for myself, but now it's like, ⁓ I can even it out. I know, you know, I can just take time here. I can go do this there, things like that. But. Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Connor Hook: You know, you know, I wouldn't have gotten to that place as well if it wasn't for my therapist, Sebastian, you know, he's been helping me through this all and all of that. And, you know, funny thing about Sebastian is when I was at my IOP, he was actually an RA doing his graduate internship at the IOP. You know, he left and everything and I left the IOP eventually. and everything and I was looking for a therapist, I reached out to Sebastian, you know, and he said yes and we'd started, you know, meeting weekly and stuff like that. Now we work in the same office. But, and I had no idea that's where he even worked because I saw him virtually. But not through the same place, but like where I work and where he works, they use the same office space. So it's like. Rob Carver: Okay. Isn't that amazing? Connor Hook: really funny like today I ran into him after seeing him for a session it was yesterday so it's just like ⁓ I didn't know you were here today but yeah but without Sebastian without my parents Lord I wouldn't have made it through all this and another thing that I did learn was it's okay to ask for help as well because I was a stubborn individual I would not ask for help Rob Carver: Yeah, that's wild. Mm-hmm. Connor Hook: But, goodness gracious, this accident taught me that it's okay to ask for help. Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. That's a great statement. I want to ask you what we are because I'm so interested in the mental side of just about everybody. You know, what makes a great musician? You know, you know, what makes an artist and an athlete, of course, because everybody faces difficulty. What is your mental game, so to speak, on an hour to hour, day by day basis that You're going to be here for a while. You don't know if you're going to have 28 surgeries. You don't know when the next infection is. Where's the daylight? When it's this, you're going to be here in the hospital and you don't know when you're getting out. How'd you do that, Connor Hook: You know, I took it, it just, it's actually a big AA saying, it's just one day at a time. really because if you worry about too much in the future, it causes severe anxiety. A lot of people like the future trip, I guess you can say like, ⁓ gosh, am I going to be having 30 more surgeries? Am I going to be here for a hundred days? You know, things like that. Rob Carver: Yeah. Connor Hook: But it's concentrating on like what's going on today. How can I improve today? Things like that, because honestly, another thing that this accident has shown me is there is no promise of tomorrow. really isn't. And, you know, I started just really even further taking it like one day at a time. Take it slow, just concentrate on what you need to do today. Because... Rob Carver: Mm. Mm-hmm. Connor Hook: You know, as long as you accomplish what you can do today, then tomorrow you can concentrate and worry about what you need to do that day. You know, cause it's just like I had, let's see, how many clients did I have? Like five clients today. Something I lose track. Yeah. Five clients today. But if I worried about tomorrow's clients while, you know, working with the five today, I couldn't give my 100%. Rob Carver: Yeah, right. Connor Hook: to my clients today, which would affect the entire session. And that's not what they're paying me for or anything. I want to give my 100 % to them. And so every day is a blessing at the same time. So it's kind of just treating it going on. And yeah. Rob Carver: Exactly, yeah. Mm-hmm. That's good. I think we should all learn from that. We're not promising more than what we have. Another negative part that you've dealt with. ⁓ My wife was in a car accident when we were first married and some of the BS I want to keep this family friendly, but you can say what you want to say. Dealing with insurance. It's just like holy smokes. I can't imagine. Connor Hook: Mm-hmm. Rob Carver: the blood pressure ringing that bell, some of the rationale is just bonkers. So you're trying to do this and then insurance gets held up in this and this and that. Is there a voice or reason? How do you handle that without going crazy? Connor Hook: Well, the funny thing is ⁓ the insurance that I had when I got into the car accident was very good and I didn't have to pay a single dime for, you know, any of the surgeries. And then once it got to December, Memorial Herman, the hospital, mailed, sent out mail and said, ⁓ next year we're not going to be taking your insurance. like the type of insurance plan that I had. And my mom and I were together at that point and we were just like, ⁓ crap, because I had a surgery scheduled for like. ⁓ my gosh, it like, I think it was in January or something like that. So we had to get a plan quick. And of course we did cut, we did get a good one. Thank goodness. But of course, you know, surgery is so expensive, still had to pay for some of it as well. Cause it's like, I hate when they send you like, ⁓ this is what you should have paid or what you like, what this originally cost. And it's just like, Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Right. Yeah. Connor Hook: surgery to repair my hip was really gonna be $200,000 like really you put nails in me a hardware store could do that but like but but I mean I've never really had a huge issue with insurance and I'm very blessed by that because I know a lot of people you know fight so much crap with insurance and stuff the only issue I've ever had truly Rob Carver: I'm going to do that at Home Depot. Mm-hmm. Connor Hook: with insurance was I was at PT one day and I roll in, you know, I check in and everything. They're like, by the way, we're not going to be accepting Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas anymore. And then I like looked down, was like, what? Like Blue Cross Blue Shield is the most used like insurance company in the state of Texas. Like why is my like hospital? Cause where I go to PT is through Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Connor Hook: you know, the hospital ⁓ system that I've been going to and they're just like, ⁓ we're in a fight with Blue Cross Blue Shield. And it's like, that's the last people you want to be in a fight with like as a hospital system. Like that's the last insurance company. And so for a while, like I only could go to PT like once a week because you know, PT without insurance is annoyingly expensive. You know, it would have been, it was like 150 Rob Carver: Mm-hmm, yeah. Sure. Yeah. Connor Hook: a session and I had to go like two to three times a week so I had to cut down and stuff like that. Thankfully they got their crap together and they finally came to an agreement so now I only have to pay $30 per session which you know still have to pay but you know it's 30 bucks compared to 150. Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Yeah, gladly, right? Yeah. Yeah, the usual customary reasonable paragraph. I was like, ⁓ so you could decide to pay what you want to pay. And they said, basically, yeah. Yeah. My wife's ambulance bill was like 1200 bucks. And I looked at the bill and they charge $53 in fuel charges to drive seven miles. And so I called the ambulance company politely. said, Connor Hook: Yeah. Rob Carver: What did you use? Rocket fuel? I mean, seven miles. They explain now this was 25 years ago. They explained that they need to upcharge the fuel charges because they have different type machines in there. So basically we could save someone's life. It's a life flighted ambulance. Perfect. Whatever. No problem. So when my insurance company came back to pay because we reached the deductible, you know, like that. They were going to pay 393 of the 1200 something dollars, usual, customary, reasonable. And I said, well, they told me, they said, your wife could have gotten a cheaper ambulance. said, excuse me. I said, she was cut out of the car from the jaws of life, you know, from the fire department. She didn't really have a chance to go over at the time to find a pay phone, check out the yellow pages and research a cheaper ambulance company. Like, what are you talking about? You know, Connor Hook: your Yeah. Yeah. Rob Carver: But I mean, it's and one of my buddies goes, you know, it's a good thing your wife survived because you probably would have been a little bit more ticked off at these charges. You know, so, yeah, that was the real victory. But so, yeah, that's just a few more gray hairs you get during your process. ⁓ Connor Hook: Yeah. Yeah, and then the funny thing, actually, now that you bring up ambulance, that's the one thing that I'm constantly fighting Blue Cross Blue Shield with about, is when I broke my hip, ⁓ I had to call an ambulance, you know, to come basically get me, because I was laying on the floor, pretty much, I could not move at all. Like, that's how bad the break ended up being. So I had to call the ambulance. I live in the medical center. Rob Carver: ⁓ boy. Connor Hook: Rob, I live in the medical center, a mile away from my hospital, got an ambulance and the bill came out to be like $5,000. And I'm constantly fighting, I'm just like, I literally rode one mile. This should cost like $35. They could have literally like picked me up and walked me to the hospital, but instead they're just like, ⁓ yeah, it's going to cost like $5,000. And I'm just like, I was like, no, no, it's really not. Rob Carver: Yeah. ⁓ wow. Right. You could have rented the helicopter. Unbelievable Connor Hook: And like, literally put my payment down as the minimum monthly payment of like $20 because I was not going to pay like a massive monthly. I'm just like, it's like $5,000 is ridiculous. Like my, I looked up my ambulance from where I got into my car wreck all the way into Houston, which I was 35 miles outside of Houston. And it was. Rob Carver: Right. That's true. Connor Hook: less expensive on that ambulance ride into Houston where my car accident was than it was from my apartment to the med center which is or to the hospital which is one mile from me now so I was like none of that makes sense I'm sorry yeah I'm always talking with blue blue cross blue shield about it I'm just like I can't I'm not no like Rob Carver: Yeah. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. Where's the voice of reason, right? Yeah. Let me talk to your supervisor. Someone who's got a brain. Yeah. Can you tell us a story? This, you know, when you told me this, it outraged me about your employer at the time of your accident. Connor Hook: Yeah, legitimately. Yeah, so it was kind of a weird situation and they did, I guess you could say have cause, right? Because I got into my car wreck, but I also was in no shape. You know, I barely had my phone like whatsoever. I was in surgery like constantly. So I did, I missed a lot of clients, you know, of course not my fault because Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Connor Hook: you know, laying in a hospital bed, under the knife, things like that. And I finally got hold of my phone and I contacted my boss and my boss was like, ⁓ thank God you're okay. You know, we were worried about you, like, you know, everything. My boss even came to see me when I was in the hospital. You know, he brought a little plant and everything. But later on I checked the Rob Carver: you Connor Hook: website, my name and my bio, everything was taken off, did not hear from my boss again, well, Xbox, and really just never got a direct, you know. explanation. Rob Carver: Wow. Connor Hook: So, you know, it stunk, but at the same time, you know, I can never fully blame that job for doing what they did because I was out for so long. You know, I was in the hospital for a total of two months. I was basically told not to work for a good while. So it's like either way, they probably asked me to go eventually because Rob Carver: Sure. Right, yeah. Connor Hook: You know, it took me so long to be able to start working again. So that's the way I took it. Like, yeah, I was kind of mad, you know, of course, with the whole like, ⁓ well, at least you could have done is tell me. But at the same time, I took it in the way as they probably would have anyway, solely because I would have been out for so long. Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. How about some, Well, call me crazy, but maybe the considerate way would be to discuss this with you before you just blank slate. Yeah. Geez Louise. All right. You know, people go on short term disability all the time. People have babies and they're out for nine weeks. But. Connor Hook: 100 % 100 % correct about that. What fun. ⁓ I've never told, you know, actually I never told my mom or dad this. They probably have figured it out, but I tried to get on disability and stuff like that and they denied me. And I told them, and they're like, well, you can get around. It seems like your disability is too short term. And I looked at him and was just like, you did see epilepsy on there too, right? Which people get disability for epilepsy all the time. ⁓ But that's a tricky situation as well, because even with epilepsy, you can still work and it doesn't fully hinder anything. They said mine were too non-hinderable or whatever, you know, to get on it. And I'm just like, I'm laying, I can't even bend my leg. Rob Carver: Hmm, yeah. Right. Yeah. Connor Hook: I'm in a wheelchair. run into things when I'm moving around. things like that. So it's kind of like... It's been a fight with all sorts of things. Rob Carver: Yeah, right. Yeah. That's part of the respect I have for you because you've never played the victim card and who would blame me if you did. Connor Hook: I mean, trust me when I say it's a little difficult not to play the victim card sometimes because it can get to those points where it's just like, whoa, is me. Like I wake up in the morning and I'm just like, I shouldn't feel this way. You know, it's almost it's almost like I guess you could say it's almost depressing. Like, you know, waking up and realizing, ⁓ still can't walk. Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Connor Hook: At the same time, know, I jump out of, well, I can't really say jump. I get out of bed, but I get to my wheelchair and I'm just, I just start rolling around. People ask me, how do I get my exercise? I'm just like, I call it chair zoomies. You know how, like how dogs get zoomies and stuff like that. I just go out into the halls and just race down to the lobby and go back. I think, I think the, the workers at the, my apartment complex think I'm insane sometimes, but it's just like. Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Connor Hook: I gotta do something, right? Yeah, exactly. Rob Carver: Get the energy out, right? Yeah. Yeah. That's awesome. I mean, it's, you said so many things there. You got to get up, get out of the rack and get rolling. Yeah. Connor Hook: Yeah, because I mean, things can stink because I said this before, my main hobby was taking away from me. Like I was out playing softball three to four times a week, every single week, had fun. Like I made so many friends and then with a blink of an eye, you know, that got taken from me, you know, with my car wreck. I thought, well, what do I do now? Rob Carver: Yeah. Mm-hmm, yeah. Connor Hook: But, you know, I've... One of the big things that I picked back up was building Legos. You know, I... Weirdly do crosswords, which... Never thought I would be a big fan of, to be honest. You know, I still like playing video games, but I'm not like the huge gamer, like... Whatever. But, you know, one of the big things is like I do like using my hands, so it's like, you know, Legos is good, then... Rob Carver: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Connor Hook: Of course, my job does keep me busy now. So it's one of those things. And I think one of the best decisions I made with my job is keeping myself open to working evenings and later afternoons. Cause typically I put my schedule at like nine to five and stuff, but then I made myself available like on certain days to go until like 10 o'clock. If, if they needed a, like if some people get off work late, so if they needed a, an appointment. Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Okay, yeah. Yeah. Connor Hook: But that also kind of helps, you know, keep me just balanced for the day and kind of keeps my mind off of things as well because, you know, I can get to a point maybe in the day where it's like, ⁓ it's so boring, blah, blah, blah. But if I have a client, you know, say at eight or nine, like whatever, I get done with the client and I'm just like, I'm just ready for bed. Now let me just throw something on the TV and watch and just. Rob Carver: Yeah. Yeah. Right. Connor Hook: like you know going to kind of the state of okay I'm done I'm done Rob Carver: Sure. Yeah. But you know what though, that statement, I don't know if it was John Wooden, but I remember him saying this, that the most selfish thing we can ever do is to help somebody because of the amazing feeling that we get back because we help somebody. So that's awesome that you do that. And I'm sure you get that lift of value to somebody. And when being a therapist that you do that so well. Connor Hook: Mm-hmm. Yeah, absolutely. Rob Carver: That's great. I've written down a bunch of notes here and what's really fun to me is when I get to talk to people like you that I get inspired by and from and learn from. when I edit this two or three different times, I get to learn and hear other things. And I'm really looking forward to hearing your story again. Some of the notes I wrote down is that I think everybody should understand is that we take for granted tomorrow and all were promises today that, ⁓ that how you used to take so many things for granted. And I know as an athlete with my knee issues, I've questioned, I ever going to be able to run? It was like the moon to me last year. Like I just need to be able to walk straight. I saw your video of you walking and I thought. Good grief, man. I got nothing to complain about. It's like I was inspired watching you walk and I've seen the Home Depot hardware in your leg. it's like, you anyway, but you talked about to treat nurses. Well, I think that's great. Connor Hook: 100 % I have learned that because if you treat the nurses well then they will treat you well. They 100 % will. Rob Carver: Yeah. That's great. So it's it's 40 plus surgeries, right? If we added them all up. Connor Hook: Uh, in my whole, in my entire life, yes, but since the accident, 32 on my leg and then the one on my hip. And the worst part is they've all been on my left side. So I've joked that I'm turning into, you know, the actual Terminator because it hasn't hit like half of his side metal. And so I'm just like, oh, oh no, the AI is taking over. Rob Carver: Yeah. Yeah, right, yeah. That's funny. There you go. It's a great way to look at it again. So No, but how long is your streak? When was the last one you had? Connor Hook: Yeah. ⁓ I think it was was the hip surgery which was October of last year. Yeah, so I'm What's going on? Let's see. It's June. No, it's not June yet. It's May ⁓ So yeah, so I mean it's been like a half a year now I guess but but that Rob Carver: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, almost here. ⁓ That's great. Connor Hook: The only thing is that streak will end at some point because I'll have another surgery. And that's just the kneecap removal, like whenever they can do that. And I know my mom wants me to hold off on that until January probably. Solely because, you know, if I have it in January, you know there's gonna be some sort of payment to pay. Rob Carver: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Figure that out. ⁓ Connor Hook: But if we pay that payment like after insurance and over my deductibles likely going to be covered for the rest of the year. So, so it's kind of just like, well, I guess everything is free like after that. Rob Carver: Yeah, right. For everything else. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Right. You know, one thing you said is it's OK to be sad. but you need to find the light side of things. There's a song that inspires me by Disturb called The Light. Sometimes darkness will show you the light. Like, man, you know, it's a funny, your perspective when you look at it as a glass half full, half empty. You know, I was a psychology major and one professor said some people are just cracked in their classes. But. Connor Hook: Mm-hmm. Hahaha Rob Carver: No, it's like you have looked at the light side of things and and and and I know things have been really brutal and you. Probably fits of anger or tears or whatever, but you still you've been inspiring the way you know, like you said, you learn to be alone and I find in your tone and the things that your message is that you found strength through all these struggles. Is that true? Connor Hook: ⁓ 100%. 100%. And, you know, it's allowed me to connect even more with my emotions. And that's why, like I say, it's okay to be sad. another, like going off of that, I think it's another point to, you know, tell young men that because we do grow up, or at least maybe we both grew up in the same place where men are encouraged not to have. emotions. know, get told to suck it up and before be strong, be and everything. Like men aren't supposed to have emotions. That's only for women. But you know, you can be strong, but still have emotions. You know, it's OK to let yourself experience emotions. It's very common for men to typically ⁓ express two emotions, happiness and anger. Rob Carver: Yeah. Right. Okay. Connor Hook: Those are usually the widely accepted ones and most seen because that's kind of a societal thing. what happens is men do feel the feeling of sadness. It comes out in anger. Rob Carver: Right. Okay. Connor Hook: But, so young men, every man I think should learn that it's okay to let yourself feel sadness and do it in a healthy way though. Because, you know, what I've seen, what I've experienced myself is when, you know, young men start feeling sad, you know, they turn to anger and they become self-destructive. That's one of their big issues. Like they turn to drinking, they turn to violence. Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Connor Hook: They turn to, you know, some actually turn to sex, you know, things like that. And I know women do too, but you know, it's been much more accepted, the women having the feelings. So that's kind of like one of my big things, like why I, you know, express so much that it's okay to be sad because if a young man sees, you know, a 33 year old therapist that's male saying that then Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. It's okay. Yeah. Yeah. Is it true that there's a, ⁓ a depressant release in tears? Is that true? Okay. Connor Hook: You know, then it is okay. It is okay. 100 % Absolutely. It is a very Like I encourage people to like have a cry every now and then even though I know you some people or most people can't cry on demand But I do say like when you have that feeling, you know, let yourself cry it's okay to cry because a lot of people do feel better after You know, they express that sadness in the form of crying you know, some people get the Rob Carver: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Connor Hook: Like it's the same like when people get angry, they like to do something physical like go to the gym, you know, some people actually like to do boxing as a big, you know, emotional, but like after you're done punching a punching bag or stuff, you have that release and you're like, that feels better. It's the same. It's the same thing with crying and the emotion of, you know, sadness. It's the same type of, I guess you could say rush that you Rob Carver: Right. Hmm, right. Yeah. Right, yeah. Sure. Yeah. Sure. Yeah. Connor Hook: that you get. Because with happiness, like, you know, we cheer, we laugh, things like that. And happiness kind of lingers around, I guess, like for a while. And anger and sadness might too, but they're temporarily, temporarily relieved when you get that some sort of activity, things like that. I think the one thing that might be the most difficult is like the feeling of fear, because it's like, you don't want to just go around being fearful. Rob Carver: Right. Yeah. Sure. Connor Hook: Because I don't think there's anything cathartic about, you know, doing something fearful and everything. Rob Carver: Yeah, yeah, exactly. So what about the like if you cry because your sports team lost and then the next day it still stinks because your team lost? I'm just kidding you. Connor Hook: ⁓ I think being an Atlanta everything fan, I've experienced that too much. ⁓ Rob Carver: Yeah, there's some yeah, there's some pain with Atlanta sports fans. Yeah. Connor Hook: I remember the Super Bowl, you know, when the 29 to 3 game happened. ⁓ That Super Bowl. I remember my dad calling me when that happened, saying, are you OK? Yeah, and I've been a Braves, Falcons, Hawks. I was a Thrasher fan. Rest in peace, Thrasher's. ⁓ Rob Carver: Holy cow. It's still too soon when you bring it up. People like, don't talk about it. It's still too soon. Because you grew up here early, that's right. Yeah, right. Yeah. Connor Hook: But I've been an Atlanta fan my whole life and I'm, you know, I'm always optimistic about their sports every single year. The Hawks, you know, they always let me down. ⁓ But the Braves, every single year I'm optimistic about them. Every single year. Falcons, I don't even know how to describe my love. All I know is I bought a new Bichon Robinson jersey and I rock it whenever I feel like it. I absolutely love them. Rob Carver: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That guy's good. He's amazing. Yeah. But you know, it's funny when I don't know what year the Super Bowl was and how long it was afterwards, but when the Braves were it was game five here against the Astros. Is that who they beat to win the World Series? Yes. OK. Connor Hook: I don't like UT, but I love Bichon Robinson. Yeah. Rob Carver: First inning, Riley hits a grand slam. Now we're about five miles from the stadium. You could feel that thing shaking. I know people that were there said the stadium was shaking. I said to my wife, the Braves have to win this game, because if they don't and go to game six in Houston, and if they lose that, I said this city, it's gonna, you know. Connor Hook: Thank It's over. It's gonna implode. Rob Carver: ⁓ my and I'm not a Braves and I'm not a Falcons fan because of my loyalty where I grew up. I've just liked it. But I've seen the Atlanta fans, you know, just crushed. after that Super Bowl, that's still unbelievable. But saying that. Connor Hook: you Rob Carver: She goes, what are you talking about? And I said, well, the Super Bowl was killer. I said, the Braves blow this and there were eight innings left. Houston won that game. I mean, it was pins and needles here and I was cheering for the Braves because I wanted Atlanta to have some joy. They canceled school one Friday everywhere for the parade. mean, the whole city was uplifted. was like, good for you, Braves. So I think the Braves won it in twenty one. Yeah, so. Connor Hook: Yep. 21, yes. And it's funny because, you know, of course I was living in Houston at that time. And let's just say after the Braves won, I stayed hunkered down in my apartment for a couple of days because all my Houston friends that were Astros or that are Astros fans, they knew I was a Braves fan. Oh, they know I'm a huge Atlanta everything. And they were talking so much smack to me, you know, before the Rob Carver: Yeah. Right. Yeah. Right. Connor Hook: Before the whole World Series and I told him I was like if it comes down to you know the series finishing out in Houston Houston will probably win and then the Braves just kept winning the games and that Riley Grand Slam I think I put everybody and do not disturb because that was like the moment where I was like, yeah the Braves got it and I'm hunkering down I'm hungering down for like the weekend. I literally texted one of my team captains for softball after that Grand Slam was like Rob Carver: Yeah, Connor Hook: I don't know if I'm coming out on Sunday. Rob Carver: Yeah. Well, you could just tell them, Hey, there's no trash cans in the dugout here in Atlanta. I mean, Connor Hook: You want to know something funny though is ⁓ there's a big softball tournament held in Houston that people all over the country come and play in and they have multiple tournaments across the country each year. The company is called Spiders and what they do is it's a draft style tournament. You pay to enter, stuff like that, and then you randomly get drafted onto a team with people that you might not even know and everything. But a couple years ago, ⁓ one of my teammates on the team, on the team I was drafted to and played the whole weekend with, the whole four days with, was actually the whistleblower of the whole Astro scandal. Yep, Mike Fiers. Love that man to death. He is one of the best people ever in the world. But any time that man came up to hit, people would boo the crap. Rob Carver: No way. Connor Hook: out of him and the funny like we were all just like leave him alone like it's so many years ago and everything but the funniest thing like he would just he would just laugh at it he would just laugh and then he got pitched the ball and the ball would go about 500 feet like it was it was hilarious like uh i remember because Rob Carver: Right? Nice. What was did he work for the Astros or was he working in the technology? ⁓ that guy. OK. ⁓ wow. Connor Hook: He was a pitcher. Oh, he was a pitcher for the Astros. Yeah. But yeah, I remember, you know, I went and watched, you know, my friends play in the tournament last year when it came to Houston. And I remember like Mike seeing me, he just runs up to me. He's like, dude, how are you? Can you walk yet? Like, like all that. I'm just like. Rob Carver: That's great. Connor Hook: Can't walk yet, but he was so happy when I actually stood up to give him a hug and things like that. no, it's like one of those big things. ⁓ know, sports matter so much to city of Atlanta, but trust me when I say like Houston is a massive sport, like nuts for the Astros, especially, know, Texans, Texans, they're kind of like, Rob Carver: Sure. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Connor Hook: whatever, you know, I mean they do have good support but it's not like a not like a mass of things. The rockets they do. But what was that? Rob Carver: Yeah. Sure. I love that you're Well, I was just saying I love the Texans jerseys. They're their color scheme. It looks good. I like their helmets and the different combos they have. Connor Hook: Yeah, their color scheme is good. I don't know what my dad really says about him. My dad is the most judgmental individual about jerseys ever in the history of mankind. the font of the numbers are off a little bit, he just like, ⁓ I hate the jerseys, they're bad. And it's like, he'll chew. If he doesn't care about who's in the game, he bases who he wants to win on the jerseys. And I'm just like, dad. Rob Carver: Okay. Okay. Is that right? Yeah. Bye, son. Okay. Okay. Connor Hook: really but that's just my dad at the same time but Rob Carver: So, he's probably, he's content with like Penn State's generic or the Yankees and just keep it real simple and classy like the Celtics. Connor Hook: He will never root for the Celtics. He will never root for the Yankees. ⁓ he absolutely will not. Because, I mean, he grew up a Lakers fan, so Celtics, absolutely not. And the ⁓ Yankees, don't know. He's a St. Louis Cardinals fan for life. ⁓ Him and I will always argue about the Braves versus Cardinals. Rob Carver: Ha! Yeah, well, I'll forgive him. Yeah. ⁓ Okay, yeah, yeah. There you go. Connor Hook: Play off debacle. Rob Carver: You mean the pop fly to left field that was or the fly ball to left field is considered infield fly? Connor Hook: Yeah, when it hit the ground and then they called it Infield Fly, which first of all, it's not in the infield. Second of all, you can't call Infield Fly when it hits the ground or like after it hits the ground because Braves would have won the series and I don't know. I can't convince my dad any other. Rob Carver: Yeah. There you go. There you go. ⁓ You were young. That's a great memory. Good for you. Connor Hook: I'm trying to remember when it was. I can't, can, you know, with sports memories, that's like one of the few things I have a good memory for. Cause I can, I can almost remember that entire 1999 team that got to the World Series and lost to the Yankees, got smacked around by them. Rob Carver: Right. Yeah. Well. Yeah. They had a great run and they're looking good this year too. ⁓ Connor Hook: Yeah, I was actually surprised when I saw their hot streak start the season. I was just like, whoa. And seeing the... Rob Carver: Yeah, different than the 0 and 7 they started last year, which killed them. Yeah. Connor Hook: Ugh. Yeah, all the injuries. But it also helps a lot with the Mets being so bad this year. It's great to see. It's so good to see when the Mets are just absolutely awful. Rob Carver: That's always satisfying. Yeah. Yeah. ⁓ ⁓ that's funny. Well, hey, I want to wrap up. I, I, I've taken so much from this and, and I, I'm proud of you. How well you've grown up. I'm sure your parents are proud of you and the adversity you faced, I don't wish on anybody, but, ⁓ that the, pastor that married my wife and I used to say this when it has been addiction that you go nowhere by accident. And so many things have happened in your life. And, ⁓ the message that you just exhibit on a daily basis is really inspiring. So I thank you for your time, Connor. Connor Hook: ⁓ Thank you for having me and thank you for the kind words. I really do appreciate it. Rob Carver: Well, they're well deserved. and and I know you're ⁓ you're helping people on a daily basis, too. So anytime somebody asks you about your situation, I'm sure it's it's uplifting. Connor Hook: Thank you. Mm-hmm. Absolutely. Rob Carver: So, well, I'll let you know when this comes out and we can buzz your dad and tell him to leave us alone next time. So again, I appreciate your time, Connor. Thank you very much. So for you out there that enjoy this episode, send it to several people until next time. Make the most of your time and always hang tough. Connor Hook: Yep. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you.