The Fuzzy Mic
After retiring from a 30-year, major market morning radio career, I'm often asked what I miss the most about the job. I miss 3 C's...camaraderie, creativity but most of all, conversation.
The Fuzzy Mic is built around creativity and conversation to develop camaraderie. The 4 focus areas are: Mental Health, True Crime, Music and Sports.
So, while The Fuzzy Mic allows me to fill some professional voids, it's my sincere hope that maybe you'll find something personally fulfilling in it too.
The Fuzzy Mic
The Strength Within: Lessons from Scott Fedor
How does one rebuild their life after a devastating accident? Join us as we explore the extraordinary journey of Scott Fedor, whose life took an unexpected turn after a diving accident in 2009 left him paralyzed from the neck down. Scott shares how the motivational teachings from his father and his competitive sports background ingrained resilience in him, preparing him to face unimaginable adversity. Through Scott's story, we learn about the power of a positive mindset and the importance of perseverance in overcoming life's toughest challenges.
With an athletic background that taught him the value of incremental progress, Scott emphasizes the significance of small victories and a daily goal-oriented mindset. His book, "Headstrong: How a Broken Neck Strengthened My Spirit," offers further insights into his journey and the role of resilience in achieving significant milestones over time.
We also discuss Scott's unwavering faith and how it has fueled his resilience, particularly during trying times such as the termination of insurance coverage for therapy. Scott talks about "Getting Back Up," an initiative he created to support others facing similar challenges, and how relationships and simple pleasures have a profound impact on his life.
Additionally, Scott shares heartwarming experiences with his service animal, Melanie, and his engagement with cutting-edge technologies like Neuralink. Through Scott's story, we are reminded of the importance of accepting our circumstances and living life to the fullest each day.
Welcome to the Fuzzy Mike, the interview series, the podcast, whatever Kevin wants to call it.
Speaker 2:It's Fuzzy Mike, Hello and thank you for joining me on this episode of the Fuzzy. Mike, imagine this You've been a top rated high school and college athlete in your teens and early 20s. Now you're a vice president for a global manufacturing company owned by one of the world's richest people, warren Buffett. You've been happily married for just over two years. Life is great. Then, on a seemingly uneventful July day in 2009, this amazing life that you've been living for all intents and purposes, it ends After you dive off a dock into water that you thought was deeper than it actually was and you break your neck on the lake floor. Doctors proclaim that you're lucky to have even survived, but are you really? You're paralyzed from the neck down. You're a quadriplegic for the rest of your life. That's how life unfolded 15 years ago for my guest, scott Fedor.
Speaker 2:I learned about Scott when I was researching extreme athletes. I like to talk to extreme athletes, and so I researched them from time to time to invite them on the show. Extreme athletes are some of the most mentally tough people I know. Show Extreme athletes are some of the most mentally tough people I know. Mental toughness can oftentimes keep depressed and suicidal people alive during low moments, so I like talking with mentally strong athletes to get tips and advice for us to incorporate in our battle to stay alive.
Speaker 2:Scott Bedore was a guest on a particular podcast I stumbled upon. I was blown away by him. While I was listening to him tell the story about, you know how his life changed in an instant, I wondered if I would have the mental metal to endure what he has endured and if I was strong enough to survive. Would I have the positive demeanor that Scott has? Honestly, I think I know myself well enough to answer no to both of those questions. Scott Fedor is next level mentally tough and I told him I know Navy SEALs, I know MMA fighters who have won world championships, I know boxing world champions, but I don't know anybody as strong as you, scott. So where does it come from?
Speaker 3:You know, I would say two things. First of all, I think I was fortunate enough I had a strong upbringing with my father and my mother that even from a relatively young age I always remember just being instilled with think positive, you can do it. My dad worked for himself, he was a salesman and I mean I grew up cutting my teeth listening to Earl Nightingale and Norman Vincent Peale and Zig Ziglar tapes on the way to when he was driving me to practices. So I kind of always I don't want to say took it for granted, but there was always some kind of motivational talk or lesson just being thrown out there. And I think you know, especially as you're a young, younger kid, you just start absorbing stuff. You may not realize what you're actually listening to or digesting at that point in time, but it's like osmosis, you know. It just gets sucked into your brain somewhere and it rattles around there and then when you need it at some point in your journey, hopefully you're able to access it. But that upbringing as well as I think sports had a lot to do with it from an early age, whether it was baseball, football, I wrestled, played basketball, swam, played rugby, tried everything and ultimately football and baseball is what really stuck, which I played up and through college.
Speaker 3:And I think just that whole idea of having to work hard, knowing, especially in the practices, and especially football, when you think about the double sessions over the summer, the conditioning there's, you know, probably three or four times a week when you're like, oh, this isn't for me, and you kind of just want to quit because it's hard, you know, frankly, but you stick with it, you persevere, you continue to win each day and come back the next day, and not that it gets easier and easier, but you start realizing, okay, you know, I've gotten through this, I can get through it again. And I think that whole mindset it just becomes a what do they say? If you do something two, four or five weeks in a row, it can kind of become a habit. I think when you're just and I don't want to say going through the motions, cause obviously you training, you're working hard, but you just keep doing it and doing it, I think the idea of showing up, dealing with the pain, dealing with the adversity, dealing with the uncertainty just becomes a habit. Did I lose you?
Speaker 2:No, not at all, I'm still here. I'm sorry. I'm riveted by what you're saying.
Speaker 3:I think it just becomes habit. I'm riveted by what you're saying, I, and I think it just becomes habit. And, fortunately, once I got hurt and once I was forced to have to dig deep to really deal with something I had never planned for or I don't want to say prepared for, because in a way I guess I was preparing for it but wasn't prepared for it to happen that's when you kind of then have to channel all that resiliency and hopefully remember that your whole life there's been opportunities before that. You dealt with setbacks, you dealt with adversity, you got through them. So this is certainly a completely different kind of adversity, a completely different kind of challenge.
Speaker 3:But that mindset and I always tell people the fact that the one thing I can still have complete control over is my attitude Attitude equals altitude, as they say, and that makes all the difference. And you know it doesn't always, at least for me, it didn't happen right away. I, you know there's. It takes some time, as you can imagine, to have to digest and have to process something that changes your life in a matter of seconds going from being a healthy, physical, able-bodied athlete and guy at the prime of my life to diving into a lake and snapping my neck in a heartbeat. That's an adjustment, as you can imagine.
Speaker 2:You didn't just snap your neck, you internally decapitated yourself.
Speaker 3:Yeah that's what they call it. They call it internal decapitation, which it was From the C1 through C6, all those vertebrae were shattered, and my neck, if you imagine. I was diving face first, so imagine my forehead hitting the lake bottom with such force that it pushed my head back. Force that it pushed my head back, and you know if I can go to a graphic for a second just imagine what that would do to your vertebrae if the back of your head kind of touched the back of your shoulders, so you just can imagine how severe and how just impactful that impact was. Well, wouldn't that kill a lot of people? I think it would, and I to this day I don't know why I'm alive. Um, oh, I do. Well, yeah, we can get to that, maybe, but just from a pure yeah, from a pure physical, physiological sense. Yes, um, you know, the doctor said this just should have killed you, and I was. I was 33. When it happened, I was still relatively in good shape, I was strong, I was working out. Um, I had strong cardio because that helped save me too, because after I hit that lake bed I didn't pass out. Um, because it wasn't like plowing into hard cement, it was plowing into soft mud, but I just hit it with such force that my neck had nowhere to go but back. But I didn't lose consciousness and it would turn out it was 33 inches of water and I was floating there wide awake looking down at this. All of my family relatives were all up in the house, which was 100 yards away at the time, and I ended up drowning myself. I said my prayers after who knows how long I was in the water for, but just all the emotions that were going through my mind, but just all the emotions that were going through my mind, the guilt for feeling selfish, that I dove in and broke my neck and was now taking myself out of other people's lives as well. I was married at the time, so I had a tremendous amount of guilt, feeling I just ruined everyone else's life.
Speaker 3:Then quickly fear, realizing that I still can't put into words. When you and at that point I was 100 convinced I was going to die, when you know that you're about to die um, for me it wasn't this peaceful, calm, reassuring okay, this is my time feeling. It was just the trauma around the way that I was going to die and what had happened. My heart was beating a thousand miles a minute that's all I could hear, filling up the entire lake in my ears was pounding my heart. I thought my heart was going to explode and it would be a heart attack that would kill me. But just processing all that, having the fear and then, ultimately, the sadness, realizing I am going to die, and I'm going to die alone, cold, wet, no one to hug, no one to be there with me, no one to say goodbye to, and at that point I said some prayers and I swallowed water just to open my mouth, just to drown myself, to get it over with.
Speaker 3:What I didn't realize was the family dog, eddie, had followed me down to the lake and it was his barking, realizing that something was wrong with Scott. He usually jumps in, jumps out. That alerted others in the house and they saw what had happened. They came running down and, obviously you know, pulled me out of the water. But going back to that decapitation one, the, the impact was so severe. But I also think they didn't know what had happened and I had a stroke and I had a heart attack. All they knew is I was floating down in the water, not moving. So they pulled me out and I'm sure I was getting jostled around. The last thing on their mind was to stabilize my neck, stabilize my head and kind of keep me from doing further damage. And I wasn't breathing, so they had to hoist me up onto a pier, put me down there and start doing CPR and ultimately the emergency vehicles went to the wrong side of the lake. So for about 45 minutes again, god was on my side that day with variety of things, but my ex-sister-in-law happened to be an ICU nurse, so her and one of her friends were there and they just went back and forth taking turns doing CPR and other life-saving measures. And I think all that obviously I'm grateful for it, it kept me alive.
Speaker 3:But I also think there was just a lot of extra trauma constantly being pushed on the neck, on my body and yeah, I don't know the doctors after they did about a 16-hour surgery to literally reattach my head to my body, one of them told my family this is one of the worst injuries I've ever seen in my life and I've done what I can do. Now it's up to God. But you need to prepare yourself because, scott, he's been injured pretty significantly and, to tell you the truth, he never said it. But I don't even know if the doctors expected me to pull through with just the level I think they implied that the level of injury that was there and how long it had taken them to kind of stabilize, reattach, put in all the hardware, the bone grafts, everything else that I would need to allow my body to at some point heal. Who knows what was going through their mind, whether or not they thought that this would be survivable, but it was.
Speaker 3:And the one thing I want to say, just going back to your original question, where do I find that? I realize that I have been through a pretty traumatic experience, but I do a lot of speaking and I always tell individuals you may not realize how resilient you are until you truly are up against it and you truly are tested. And while I appreciate what others tell me and can understand why they think that I have shown strength in the face of adversity, they think that I am have shown strength in the face of adversity. You know, I tell everyone don't sell yourself short, because if the roles were reversed and I was sitting where you were right now, looking, talking to someone in my situation, I'd probably say there's no way I'd be able to handle that, I wouldn't have been able to find the strength, but I did, and I don't think that's I give myself credit, myself credit for that, yes, but I don't think I'm the exception by any means. I think a lot of individuals would be able to find that strength in them if they're up against it, because I do think people by nature are resilient.
Speaker 3:But what does help that resiliency, I will say, is having the right attitude. And if you let your attitude get away from you, then you, then you are doomed, I think physically, because you know where the mind goes, the body will follow. And if you're not, if you're not in that right mindset and ready, like like it's like like a pregame you know you get your speech from your coach ready out there and ready like like it's like like a pregame. You know you get your speech from your coach ready to go out there. If you're not in that right mindset, ready to take on the task at hand, then why even show up? So that was a challenge.
Speaker 2:We know that the mind is infinitely tougher and infinitely stronger than our physical bodies.
Speaker 3:Navy SEAL David goggins has a a saying that when you think you're done, your body is only at 40, but it's your mind telling you, yeah, absolutely, and it's, it's, that's a very tough uh, you know, we also know how powerful and convincing the mind can be. So it is very tough to kind of ignore your mind when it's telling you, oh, stop, stop time to give up. You know, and trust that. Nope, you know, there is more in me. I'm only at 40%, like you said. So you have to trust your mind, but you also have to, you know, keep your mind in check at times, I guess.
Speaker 2:We're talking to Scott Fedor. You can read Scott's book. It's called Headstrong how a Broken Neck Strengthened my Spirit, and it's a fascinating book. That what you're hearing now is what you'll be able to read in the book. It's available on Amazon. You said a few things in there that I kind of want to unravel, if you don't mind. Sure, okay. So the first one was your athleticism in high school and in college. Did that prepare you to go through the physical distress that you went through?
Speaker 3:Absolutely, in a couple of ways. First of all, at the time that I was injured I was still pretty active, working out, and had recently I say recently, probably six months prior taken up a more extensive cardio regimen. And the doctors did tell my family that, because, swallowing the water and just dealing with the pneumonia that came with on the onset of the injury right away, they said, if his lungs had not been in the shape that they were, he might not even because I was on a breathing machine. I did have a ventilator breathing, but even so I was on a breathing machine, I did have a ventilator breathing, but even so, um you know, his body might not be strong enough to accept and allow all this.
Speaker 3:So I certainly think at that moment in time, um, that, uh, my body was fortunately strong enough, and also all the work that I had done up to that moment in time, from all the workouts starting in my early teens, um, uh, strength conditioning up until that point in time, all the other uh challenges on a on a football field, a baseball field, a basketball court, wrestling mat, whatever you um, what have you?
Speaker 3:Um, certainly I think that just allowed my body to, um, to get used to being, uh, stressed, to get used to being, um, you know, uh, bent around, pushed around, if you will say and kind of starting to learn like, okay, there are limits that, you know, my body can, can exceed and and just because, um, you know, I'm getting bruised or beaten or pushed around in a moment, the body is tough, it is strong and I think muscles have a memory as well, and I think that, being in that situation and being in a spot where my body suddenly just took on a tremendous amount of trauma, I think it kind of, to a certain extent, fell back on all of its training, realizing, okay, maybe that is why I'm alive and maybe that's why that injury didn't kill me, because, okay, we just took a pretty, pretty hard shot. But this is nothing new, you know, for the past several years and decades, you know, scott's been kind of putting his body through the ringer at times.
Speaker 3:Well, I do think the athleticism had a lot to do with it but not.
Speaker 2:Not only the athleticism, but you would also said that, uh, going through two a days, you're just like mentally win the day just win the day, absolutely, and that's what you have to do every day to overcome or deal with your paralysis.
Speaker 3:Yes, absolutely, I have a saying. It's not my saying. I found it in a book that my father used to read when I was laying in a hospital bed. It's actually from a book called the Mind Gym and it's about an athlete as well as a psychologist who talked about the mental side of athletics. A great book, it's worth checking out. But there's a saying in that book inch by inch is a cinch, yard by yard is awfully hard and that's kind of a take on the whole win the day, especially with a spinal cord injury.
Speaker 3:This is an injury that, if you're looking for nerves to regenerate themselves or if you're looking for other types of recovery, it's not going to happen right away.
Speaker 3:It's going to take time. So, inch by inch, you really have to realize that there's going to be a lot of little gains, incremental gains that will add up in time. But you can't just come out swinging for the fences, can't just come out swinging for the fences and that all goes back to that win the day mentality of whether you're in a on a dusty field doing two a days or, you know, shooting 100 different foul shots after practice. It's just inch by inch, it's one step at a time and those inches add up the feet, those feet, yards, yards, miles.
Speaker 3:And it's not until, all of a sudden, you know you're at the end of the season. You look back like, wow, you know, I made it through all those two days, I made it through a grueling season, I ended up becoming a state champion. I mean, wow, look, but those aren't really immediately on your mind on those hot August or hot July days when you're just trying to kind of make it around the, you kind of make it around the track for another lap before you pass out. So it really is staying in the moment, focusing on those little inches, trying to win each day, realizing that the rest will start to take care of itself as you pile up those little victories.
Speaker 2:So then, right after the accident, right after the injury, to now, how has won the day? Win the day? How has it changed?
Speaker 3:I think the goals are different. When I was first injured, a lot of it was about, you know, the little things. I call them little, but they were obviously big. But the little victories that I had to keep managing were things like learning how to breathe again on my own without a ventilator, learning how to tolerate sitting up without passing out, understanding how the blood pressure and the body temperature and other physiological factors were affected by a spinal cord injury. Physiological factors were affected by a spinal cord injury. Being able to go to therapy and try to get through an afternoon of whether it's kind of shrugging a shoulder or getting stretched out and not getting nauseous, not passing out, and then making it through each night lying in bed at night, questioning God, trying to relive a million times in my mind what had happened, trying to bargain for a second chance, if you will, to take all this away. Those were all the things in the demons I was dealing with, as well as the challenges physically where I was trying to win the day. Now it's much different.
Speaker 3:When I was first hurt and I woke up, the first thought of my mind was damn. I'm still paralyzed and you know I was there for a while, as I mentioned in my book, when I wake up now, my first thought is you know, damn, I slept an extra hour. I got to get going. There's a lot I want to do. So that mind shift has totally changed and my win the day now are the daily work that I throw myself into, and by work I mean I was able to start a pretty successful foundation.
Speaker 3:Now it's managing that foundation on a day-by-day basis reviewing applications, talking with other facilities, other vendors, other individuals to find the right, connecting them with the resources they're looking for. It's doing some writing, which I still try to do. It's just managing the day-to-day business activities, if you will, as well as kind of the work and the service and the advocacy that I've thrown myself into. I don't find my winning the day so much about me trying to get better as much as trying to do better with the projects and those that I'm serving, if that makes sense. So it's kind of gone from. I don't wake up and try to work out to get myself stronger. I wake up now and I try to do things that are going to help me be able to contribute to society more and be able to help serve others, whether that's through the advocacy work or the foundation or whatnot.
Speaker 2:Well, it's very interesting. One of the things that I heard you I heard you say in a previous conversation was now your life is more rewarding than it was before the before the injury.
Speaker 3:Yes, it's, it's it's more fulfilling in a in and I don't. You know, I don't say that tongue in cheek, I'm not trying to have a Pollyannic outlook, but you know, before I got hurt, a lot of it was self-serving. I think, like most of us, you know we have a career, we're working on bettering our situation. I think, like most of us, you know we have a career, we're working on bettering our situation and that certainly hasn't gone away.
Speaker 3:Obviously, I continue to want to get stronger physically and certainly better myself. But now my outlook has become more just that, more outward, more focused on what I can do to help the greater good and you know I don't say that with lofty aspirations, it's more. By greater good I mean, just hey, if I can run this foundation and be able to help one more individual today get the tools and the resources they need to be able to grow stronger and go about their life, then that's great, then I've won the day and there's a lot of fulfillment in that. As they say, we help ourselves by helping others. But you ask anyone that kind of has a life of service. It feels good, I think, psychologically, when you get a gift and you see someone's reaction that always feels better, sometimes than receiving a gift, and it's the same thing with service and in the work I've chosen to do.
Speaker 2:Yeah, getting back up. You've helped over 300 people continue their therapy physical and mental therapy with spinal cord injuries because, as it happened to you, your insurance ran out.
Speaker 3:Yeah, it's. You know, I was in a nursing home and the one thing that got me up and kept me mentally strong and excited to win each day was going to therapy and getting challenged. And one day the director of therapy comes to me and says hey, your insurance isn't going to pay for this anymore. You've plateaued. And in their mind, I wasn't walking, let alone the fact that I had learned to breathe on my own. I had learned to tolerate standing up in machines with assistants doing different activities, being able to get in my chair for a day and go out and take part of a baseball game or go to a restaurant without passing out. No, no, that didn't matter to them. They just figured oh, if you're not walking, you're not getting better, so we're not going to waste our money anymore.
Speaker 3:And I'll tell you, Kevin, that was like breaking your neck all over again because you've worked so hard to get to this point physically where you can start to see relief.
Speaker 3:You can start to realize, okay, I can live like this, it's not the end of the world, I am getting better.
Speaker 3:I might not be walking, but there's so many more important things that I've started to discover, and now it's like flipping that rug right from under your feet again and that was a tough blow and I was extremely fortunate that I had friends and family who came to the rescue with resources to help me continue.
Speaker 3:That was a tough blow and I was extremely fortunate that I had friends and family who came to the rescue with resources to help me continue to private paper therapy. But that was the impetus for getting back up and I realized there's a lot of individuals that are probably having the same conversation but unfortunately they're not in a position where they know people or have access to the resources they need to be able to continue their therapy. And that, ultimately, is what drove getting back up the idea. And I'm happy to say, like you mentioned, we've been able to help hundreds of individuals get the therapy they need. When insurance says no, we say yes and that's really where we've been able to kind of make our carve, our little niche and that leave that you know you're not walking so we might not have the money anymore.
Speaker 2:That's spirit breaking, and your spirit is a hell of a lot stronger than your body.
Speaker 3:Well, you're right, and I think that's also why I kind of titled the book how a Broken Neck Strengthened my Spirit, because again, it's one of those things that I think I discovered how strong the human spirit and, in my case, how strong my spirit was by having to go through something like this. Unfortunately, you might not ever realize how incredibly strong the human spirit can be unless you go through adversity. But there's a quote I like to say that you know x-rays and MRIs can determine, you know they can tell you what's broken, but they can't judge or they can't show you how strong that the spirit is. You know that comes from mentally, that comes from somewhere inside of you, and that spirit is just as strong as anything else, if not stronger. So, yes, it was spirit breaking. But I also realized, like I alluded to earlier, okay, you know I got this.
Speaker 3:I've gotten through some pretty spirit breaking, pretty damning challenges in the past. This is just another one. I can get through this as well. And you fall back on those tools that you've accumulated along the way, those mental tools to start being able to apply to the job at hand. And that's what you have to do compartmentalization and a lot of breaking. You know, breaking things down into their simplest parts and then not worrying about what's going to happen. You know, even a day, week, month from now, focus right now. What can I control? You know, let's get my mind right it's inch by inch Yep absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 2:You have a very strong faith. I know that, and do you think that um faith? I know that and do you think that because a recent guest that I had said God doesn't do things to you, he does things for you.
Speaker 3:I believe that. I believe that and I think to individuals who might not have as strong of a faith or might not have the same idea of God that I have, they probably hear that and they're like, what does that even mean? I mean, what a bunch of hot air? But no, absolutely. It goes without saying that, like they say, God doesn't give you more than you can handle. I've questioned that a lot.
Speaker 3:Trust me because I certainly feel he gave me a lot, but I don't feel I've ever been alone in my journey. I was raised Catholic. I went all the way up through Catholic high school. I had strong faith and one of the things I'm most proud of is that I haven't lost my faith. But I've also doubted a lot. I mean, I also laid in bed and I cursed God and I swore at him and I just wondered I mean, if you are this great God, why would you do this to me? I mean, if this is what your will is, why is that? And you know you have those conversations. I think it's perfectly normal.
Speaker 3:But at the end of the day I also realized, you know, I can't do this alone and my faith is what I believe, gives me the strength, gives me the resiliency, helps fuel my spirit, and the last thing I want to do is go this alone and and not have that um co-pilot with me. And I think that's helped me kind of keep things in perspective, focus on my relationship with God, and all I got to helped me kind of keep things in perspective, focus on my relationship with God, and all I got to do is look back at it and say, wow, you know, all those years ago those doctors pretty much wrote me off and they told me I would never breathe on my own again, probably never get out of bed again, never be able to eat. My life was pretty much over, just worried about making it comfortable. And I look at where I am today and, yes, there was a lot of hard work I put in to get here and a lot of others helped me, but I also think that's God. I mean, I tell people sometimes miracles don't have to be these big, grandiose things that just happen right away. They can slowly reveal themselves over time. And I think that's a testament to the position I'm in today that I do believe God did work a miracle through me.
Speaker 3:And just because I'm not walking or I'm not diving into a lake again, I'm not back to where I am, doesn't mean that I haven't experienced a miracle. As you pointed out, and as I, you know, added on, I feel my life's more fulfilled. I mean I I dove into a lake, broke my neck, was left for dead, and can I honestly say today that I'm in a better situation? Um, spiritually, mentally, emotionally. Now I certainly have my moments and you know we all still have bad days, certainly have my moments, and you know we all still have bad days. But in the grand scheme of things, when I look back over, you know, over the course of events that have transpired, I feel so much more fulfilled and I think that if I didn't have god in my life, if I didn't have strong faith, I wouldn't be able to appreciate that and I might not even be able to experience that.
Speaker 2:So let me throw this your way. Get your reaction to this, All right. Jesus lived to be 33 years old. You dove in 33 inches of water at the age of 33. I said we're going to save lives today. Are you the savior reincarnated?
Speaker 3:Are you the savior reincarnated? No, no, absolutely not, absolutely not. But I do believe that God and Jesus are working through me to help others.
Speaker 3:There's no question about that. Yeah, I firmly believe that. But you know, and I've thought about the whole thing before with the 33 age but no because you, because it is all relative. My story, as tragic as it started out and as challenging and as resilient as it may be, is just one story in millions, and I think God, every day, is working miracles with individuals. And just because I broke my neck and became paralyzed does not mean that my adversity or my challenge in life is any more great than anyone else's.
Speaker 3:As I've talked about when I give talks or when I speak with others, I mean there's individuals out there dealing with mental illness on a daily basis and in a way, they may wake up being more paralyzed than I am.
Speaker 3:There's others that are dealing with depression, might also be dealing with other health issues like paralysis or ALS or cancer or something else, and a lot of those people are still choosing to wake up each day, to win that day, to focus on what they can control and to make the most out of it.
Speaker 3:And I just think that any one of those individuals you could look at and say they're a living testament of the power of God and God working through them to help others appreciate a little of the in the. The irony of the 33 isn't lost on me. I just think you know, if anything, I'm just an example or a chance to to really help others understand and embrace the fact that you know God. God does work in mysterious ways, but God also gives us the tools that we need to thrive in a situation that might seem completely untenable and and and and hopeless. So, um, so I'm trying to, uh, to do my best and, uh, you know, appreciate the opportunity that I've been given and realize that there is, there is a chance to use tragedy and adversity to advocate, to teach and to hopefully help others get a leg up in this crazy world.
Speaker 2:So the Fuzzy Mike is all about mental health. It's about taking the fuzziness of our mental illness because I am. I'm depressed, clinically depressed and suicidal ideation. So when I think about my bad times, my bad days, I'm going to think about you and I hope you do and you're going to pull me through and I hope you do and I hope that helps. No, it will. I mean, you inspire me.
Speaker 3:I appreciate that and I want to come back to that word inspire, in a second. But when I give my talks, I always talk about the absolute truths that a broken neck has taught me, and one of them is that it's all relative Because when I'm having my bad days, I have some individuals I've met in my life who I think about them and they pull me through. And I say it's all relative because you might think, oh well, you know, mental health, that's nothing compared to being paralyzed in a wheelchair. But I'm thinking the opposite way. Oh, you know, I'm paralyzed in a wheelchair, but, you know, fortunately I have a. You know, I have a strong mind and I'm able to kind of focus and stay the course. So it is completely all relative.
Speaker 3:And I hope you do use my story to help you, because I use other people's stories to help me, and at the end, that's what we're all here for and it doesn't matter where you get your help from or who you get it from or how you get it. I think, as long as that you're open to help, you're willing to receive it. And going back to the word inspire now, once you do get that help, you do something with it Because a lot of individuals you know they used to always tell me and people I'd meet, oh you're such an inspiration, and I would tell them okay, I appreciate that, you know, but you opened up this can of worms now, because inspire means to act. And if I'm going to inspire, you go act on it. Don't just say you're inspired because you're in my presence right now and you're kind of feeling sympathy or you're being, oh, I'm glad I'm not in your situation. No, when you're out there on a random Tuesday and something's going on and you feel at the end of your rope, you know, act, then become inspired, then draw on this inspiration that you have, because just because our paths have crossed and I may, you know, wheel away and you go your way, doesn't have to mean that inspiration's ended. So if you want to tell me I'm an inspiration, I appreciate it. Thank you. But I'm going to challenge you right back to you know, go, prove it. Go.
Speaker 3:When you have those moments and you're not in the presence of someone else who you might think of as an inspiration, you now need to inspire yourself and you now need to take what you've learned in those mental tools and use it to help yourself, and I always tell people. So that's the greatest compliment you can give me is if, if you are, if you want to tell me that I help you, well, let that continue to be the case after our, you know, after our, after we've departed each other's company. So I hope, I hope you do continue to. You know, when you're having your down moments, if you need to use me for an inspiration, please do, but realize that you know it forces you to act. So you know you now need to. You now need to act on what you're feeling and find a way to help dig yourself out of that knowing, hey, I've had bad days before I can get through this. I just can't let myself get overwhelmed, one inch at a time and I'll get through it again. And then you wait and inevitably more bad days will come. But I think as long as we start stringing together more good days, you're certainly going to have those rainy days. That's fine and it just helps us appreciate.
Speaker 3:I will say if I can add one more thing I'm sorry if I'm a little long-winded here. No, no, no. But there's moments where I might be sitting outside and just enjoying a sunset or the weather, or a campfire or whatever it is, and sometimes I think about how horrible the situation I did find myself in after I dove into that lake and how much my body was ready to give up and how broken I was and how beaten down I was. And I think about it and it helps me just appreciate the moment that I find myself in sitting at that, staring at that sunset, realizing, I was told, I'd probably never see another sunset again.
Speaker 3:And wow man, I was pretty messed up and I got through it and I take a little bit of pride in that and I allow myself to kind of, for the moment, just relish it, enjoy it. And then it also helps center me and keeps me focused on the now and it's like, okay, you know, I've been given this opportunity. Let's make sure that even when I do get depressed or I do have down moments, I'm not squandering the opportunity I have been given, opportunity I have been given. So my point is that I think a lot of times looking back on our lowest moments can really help us more than we realize, you know, if we don't dwell on them, but if we allow ourselves to just remember how low we were and then realize that we've gotten through that. It's such an incredible surge of just inspiration and hope to realize okay, I can get through these awful, tragic low moments in my life and when they come again you might not always be ready for them, but when it's time to deal with them, you know that you have that arsenal.
Speaker 2:Yeah, it lets you know how far you've come them.
Speaker 3:You know that you have that arsenal. Yeah, it lets you know how far you've come. Absolutely I don't think enough people give themselves credit, whatever their situation is, to realize you know how how far they have come in their endeavors.
Speaker 2:What are your? What are things you appreciate now that you didn't appreciate before the injury?
Speaker 3:Um, yeah, I certainly I don't want to to. You know, the first thing would come to mind would be like my relationships with others, but I think I always did appreciate those. But now, especially specifically with my mother and father and sister, seeing and and others that I've met, seeing just how much people are willing to help me and how much, especially my mom's, how much she has sacrificed to uh to help me. I think I always appreciated that. But, uh, there's different levels of appreciation and the depth to which I can truly see now how much she's put her own life on hold to help me. Um, it's something I'll never be able to repay her for, um, so that that, that goes without saying. I don't think she would want.
Speaker 2:I don't think she thinks about repayment. I think just seeing you breathe is repayment enough for her.
Speaker 3:No, and you're, and you're absolutely right. But I certainly would love to be able to kind of just help her go after and you know, and get, go chase any dreams that she still has. But the relationships, you know that that certainly goes without saying. But then it's other things like it's it's a sunny day, it's being able to sit outside and truly like little things, just truly put my head back, close my eyes and just feel the warmth of my face. A good glass of wine with friends sitting around a campfire, going to a great concert, you know, seeing a good movie, it's all those little things.
Speaker 3:You always hear that cliche, you know like you know the little things are the big things, but they really are. I mean it's. It's those just enjoying a day, enjoying a moment, and especially when you're enjoying it, you're able to sit there and tell yourself to consciously recall the fact that I was told I'd never have these moments. That even helps you enjoy it even more. And to have and I've been fortunate enough where I've been able to master that discipline so that when I am having a good time you better believe it somewhere in the back of my mind I'm always like and I was told I wasn't going to have this good time, so I'm going to enjoy it more. But it really is those little moments that I can now appreciate that, that cliche, that, those little moments that I can now appreciate that, that cliche, that, those little things again. You know, if there was a theme here, it's those inches.
Speaker 2:They really do add up and and become the big things, man, you're not just enjoying little things. I mean, you went to deaf leopard and journey. You had to have a hell of a time there yeah, I just that was recently.
Speaker 3:That was a great concert, yeah another kentucky Derby.
Speaker 2:You're living the life.
Speaker 3:I'll tell you too. You know they always make the joke. You know membership has its privileges. You know, after I hurt my neck, it was probably about three or four years afterwards I had the chance to meet one of my idols, bruce Springsteen, and he came to Cleveland for a concert and, long story short, I had reached out to his PR firm and when the concert was over, there was a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and it was this usher saying are you Scott Fedor? I'm like, yes, he's like, I need you to follow me.
Speaker 3:And I didn't know what was going on. I thought the guy was helping myself and my friends get to the parking lot to avoid traffic. But we get into this freight elevator and the next thing you know we're going down. It opens it up behind the stage and I'm like, oh my God, is this happening? And yep, sure enough. They say wait here. You know Bruce will be out, he wants to meet you in a little bit. And I was like you got to be kidding me. And yep, sure enough, he came out and came right up to me and said God bless you, kiss me on the head.
Speaker 3:And we just started telling stories about the concert, about music, about other things, probably talked to him for about 10 minutes and then, you know, we went on our way and I'm just like. You know, it was his music and I kind of mentioned that in the letter when I had written this PR for him. I was like, uh, you know, when I was getting up every day to work out, after broken that, to to try to learn inch by inch again, uh, it was his music that I listened to my iPod. That would keep me going, that would motivate me and just be able to have the chance to say thank you to him and tell him what, uh, you know, again, like, I look at him as the inspiration.
Speaker 3:Um, so it is all relative, but um, yeah, so that was a, that was a great moment. And then just a lot of other things I've been, you know, talk about living the life, whether it is going to concerts or sporting events, just the individuals I've been able to meet, the speaking events I've been able to attain, the different organizations I've been able to become involved with. There are a lot of very, very fascinating and remarkable people out there that I otherwise might have never crossed paths with and might never have thought to even want to cross paths with. So those are all again, those miracles that you know. They're not big and grandiose, but they reveal themselves slowly over time.
Speaker 2:Well, there's another celebrity that you talk about in the book and I'm wondering, uh, if you'll share the story about dennis bird and the biblical quote yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3:For those that you know that don't know, dennis bird was a uh, he played for the back in the early 90s, late 80s, early 90s played for the new york jets. And when I was 16 years old I'm dating myself here when I'll let your listeners do the math when I was 16 years old it was actually 1992 and I was laying on the floor of my childhood home flipping through the page of the Sports Illustrated. It was probably after a football practice or something, but I remember I was in December and I was flipping through those pages and I came across the story that had just been shared earlier. That season Dennis Bird had went for a tackle and broke his neck in an NFL game and was laying any recounts in the story through the interview. He was laying on the field just looking up at these worried faces and these expressions on his teammates, realizing that he just broke his neck. And then he kind of passed out. And he says when he woke up in the hospital, the first thing that he noticed he looked above his head and there was inscribed on a poster a scripture verse Romans 8, 18, which reads for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. And he was a deeply religious, spiritual, you know faithful filled man as well. But he kind of took that mantra and carried it with him throughout his rehab and then ultimately walking out of the hospital and how he chose to live his life.
Speaker 3:And I'm a 16 year old adolescent but I was so moved by that scripture verse and I'd always been a fan of positive mantras growing up, as I mentioned, and different sayings. But I actually got up, I typed that out and we still use typewriters onto a piece of paper, folded it up and stuck it in my wallet, but I didn't forget about it. There probably wasn't a week or two at most. That went by over the next 17 years up until the day I got injured, where at some point during the week I wouldn't pull that out, remind myself, take a breath. No matter how crazy things are getting with work, relationships, whatever, god does have a plan. Glory will be revealed. Right now there's suffering you're going to go through, but it pales compared to what is in store for you if you keep the faith. Fight the fight. A former football player, obviously nowhere near the caliber of Dennis Byrd. But I break my neck.
Speaker 3:I wake up in a hospital bed and one of my family members had gone through my wallet, had taken out that verse, transcribed it, and what do you think? The first thing that I saw was when I woke up in a hospital bed was that same Romans 8, 18. And you can tell me it's coincidence, all you want, but I'll just say bull, the fact that that saying moved me that much and struck a chord with me as a 16-year-old. I continued to carry it with me all my life, to the point now where I wake up in a hospital bed, same, similar situation Dennis had found himself in. And here I am looking at that same verse.
Speaker 3:It was, you know, it's just. There's just too much divine intervention in there to think it's anything else. But again, it just serves as such a great reminder that the suffering for all of us, you know, the sufferings of the present, are not worthy to be compared with the glory you know that shall be revealed in us and it goes here on earth. I think by working hard good things will happen. And I think, you know, as you relate to God in heaven, by believing and living a, you know a pious and a righteous life and a just life. You know you'll have eternal life afterwards and you will have, you know, glory in the next. So it's just such a great story to share with others and also a great reminder for me of that God does. To your point earlier, you know God does have a plan. He kind of does know what he's doing and even though bad things may happen and we might not agree with it, these are all opportunities, if we embrace them, to find ourselves more fulfilled than we otherwise might have been.
Speaker 2:And I'm fortunate that I've been able to do that and to share my story with others and hopefully help them learn and do that as well, and you've always considered yourself I know that you talk about this a problem solver, and now you have other problems that you didn't have prior to the injury, and one of the things that I think you solved as a problem and I love this about you, brother is that you helped change Ohio law to allow for various service animals and you actually had Melanie for a while.
Speaker 3:I had Melanie, and Melanie was at the time I got. Her was a 28-year-old capuchin monkey and there was an organization out of Boston called Helping Hands and they're now called Envisioning Access access, if anyone wants to check them out. But um, they trained these capuchins to help individuals with spinal cord injuries. Because of the intelligence of the animal, their small stature and then how just ambidextrous and agile they are with opening things and closing things. Mel Melanie was a capuchin monkey, lived with me for about 11 years and would help everything from turning on lights, wiping my face, if I told her. If I said face, I would keep a rag in my lap. She would itch my face. She could unscrew bottles, put straws in drinks, turn on DVDs. I would have a little pointer that I kept attached to my sip and puff here, which is how I drive my wheelchair, and I could click that electric pointer. It would aim at something. She'd run over and hit it, whether it was a button, whether it was a light switch, whether it had a spasm, and maybe my foot was out of place my foot pedal. They would spend about seven years training these animals on these various commands before they would introduce them into someone's family. And Melanie is still around. She's still alive. She's back in Boston.
Speaker 3:It got to the point where, after a decade with me, I realized that she was a great, great animal and she had put her time in and they live anywhere from 35 to 45 years in captivity. But I wanted her. She was getting ready to turn 40. And I wanted her to be able to just hang up her worker's badge and go enjoy her life. So she's living her best life. I keep in touch with the folks there and, from what I hear, she's certainly the alpha queen. She gets plenty of grooming and love from about a dozen other monkeys she lives with. She gets three full squares a day plus a lot of treats obviously the greatest healthcare and she's got a lot of enrichment activities that that she's able to take care of.
Speaker 3:So but the law was that right before I had gotten melanie back in uh, around 2010, 2011, in ohio, there was an individual down near the zanesville ohio columbus area who had a lot of exotic animals and he was having some mental issues, it sounds like, and came home one day and just let them all loose into the city and then ultimately ended up shooting himself. But I mean no joke. They had lions and tigers and bears on the loose in columbus and they were eventually able to round some of them up. Unfortunately, some of them had to be put down, but I was all set to get Melanie and then they said no, you know, we're not allowing this anymore.
Speaker 3:I do think certain service exotic animals like this should exceptions should be made and the benefits they can provide for individuals with disabilities like myself, and fortunately that it was passed in the law that that I would be allowed to have an exotic animal after all. So that was, that was a chance to have a great impact on, on something that could help others as well, and also a chance for me to open up my home to to live with, uh, you know, a little 12 pound kind of crazy little capuchin monkey. So, um, it was a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:Problem solver.
Speaker 3:Well, I don't know if I was much of a problem solver as Melanie, because she found a way to weasel treats out of me all the time and then kind of get the best of others, but I have always enjoyed finding a way that there's a challenge. There's certainly more than one way to overcome it, and discovering those has always been a rewarding, rewarding pastime for me.
Speaker 2:You can go to Scott's website, scottfadorcom, to read some of the blogs that he's written, and if the answer is yes to this, I will wear it. Okay, but do you hopefully you do realize the irony in the way that you titled your Tellage talk a deep dive into my mind?
Speaker 3:um well, john tell it.
Speaker 3:He titled it that, but he did he titled that, but when we were talking he certainly um, he had been a former sportscaster, sports anchor in cleveland. So he obviously, from a journalistic standpoint, very smart, intelligent guy. And you know he was even talking about the title of my book and how much he loved the play on words with my book Headstrong Yep. And so when he did title it a deep dive into my mind he certainly knew what he was doing with that title. But yeah, I'm glad you did come across that because he's another amazing guy and when I was growing up playing football he was one of the local sportscasters that would follow our team. So there was always a little bit of that connection there.
Speaker 3:And then all these years later we got together and I was able to share my story and since this I haven't shared this, but since that time I have spoken with him and his wife and we've been kind of trying to put our heads together on other ways to not just help getting back up but kind of help other individuals with spinal cord injuries outside of the things that health insurance or the government might help provide. So how do we kind of get more resources towards individuals to allow them to live in a community to live in, a, you know, a home of their choosing, as opposed to being institutionalized. So it wasn't just a guy that showed up and did an interview. He really kind of picked up the torch and carried it forward and he's just, he's just an amazing guy. But yeah, when I first saw that, what he titled it as well, okay, so you chuckled too.
Speaker 2:I was like I chuckled.
Speaker 3:No, I was like I see what you did there, john, I appreciate it and, yeah, I certainly enjoyed the irony and the poetic waxing of the title that he came up with.
Speaker 2:Well, scottfadorcom is where you can go to read these blogs and to see other conversations that Scott has had, because you put them up on your YouTube channel. And then also the book is Headstrong how a Broken Neck Strengthened my Spirit. It's available on Amazon. It answers the question that you were proposed to you by the doctor Do you want to live? At which time you, in your mind, said I don't, but Michigan has a law. I didn't know about this Michigan law. Please tell.
Speaker 3:Yep, you're right. So after I got hurt again, I was in the hospital a couple days and you know I thought my life was over. Even though I was paralyzed, I was still in a tremendous amount of pain and just all the demons that were going through my mind and the horrible thoughts and the ways of thinking this is what my life's going to be like. I was just praying dear God, please just help me find a way to die. Will that, if an individual is on artificial life, supporting means or other means, extraordinary means keeping them alive, and they're lucid and of sound mind, they have that opportunity, from the onset to beginning, of choosing whether or not they want to expire or if they want to continue to live.
Speaker 3:And a doctor came into me and, matter of, I mean, I didn't even get that proverbial 1% chance of walking again. He just laid it right out there. He's like Scott, you've had a horrible injury, you broke your neck. You're never going to walk again. You're never going to breathe on your own again. You're probably not going to be able to eat or swallow, get out of bed for more than a couple hours. Life, as you know, it is going to be all about trying to be comfortable. But any semblance you have he said this to me of a normal life, you got to come to grips with it. It's gone.
Speaker 3:And you know, I kind of was already telling myself that in my mind. But when you get hit with that by a doctor, a medical professional, wow, you know, it just felt like I just got a death sentence. And he wanted to make sure that I understood it all and I was like I said I couldn't breathe on my own at the time, I was very weak, couldn't, didn't have the voice, so I was blinking my eyes. He's like blink yes once for yes, twice for no. Do you understand what I'm saying? And then he finally said I know I want to ask you a question and you know the question you alluded to he. He said do you want to live? And by all intents and purposes I was fully prepared to say no, but again, divine intervention, and not just divine intervention, but having a voice.
Speaker 3:The first word I spoke was yes yes, I want to continue to live and I don't know where it came from, other than the Holy Spirit. I will believe that till the day I die, and can I have a chance to have God tell me yep, you're right, those were my words. I'm not done with you. So, yeah, I talk. I really talk about it extensively in my book about do you want to live.
Speaker 3:And then that became for me, as I detail my recovery in the book and where I'm at with my life today, not just a one-time physically thing do you want to live?
Speaker 3:But, like I said, when you get up every day and what we choose to do and the events or the experiences that I choose to get involved with and throw my resources, my time into, I mean, do you want to live and throw my resources, my time into, I mean, do you want to live? Do I just want to go through the motions or do I want to find a way to continue to help others, continue to help myself, continue to try to gather up those inches and move along and not just go through the motions, appreciate the things that I was told I would never be able to appreciate again? So in a sense, I feel like I'm forcing myself to answer that question every day. Do you want to live? Okay, go prove it now. So again, like that Dennis Bird moment, that do you want to live? Conversation with a doctor again was something that there's no other way for me to explain it other than divine intervention. You know, there's no other way for me to explain it other than divine intervention.
Speaker 2:Well, I found it. I found it interesting when I read that question do you want to live? Would your answer have been different had they posed it? Do you want to die?
Speaker 3:because that's on your mind, it's a great question um, the short answer me would say no, because I believe that the divine intervention still would have come in there. But I think it does just go to the psychology of. You know, the psychological aspect of the way we frame things, the way we look at situations that we're faced with. Are we kind of, you know, seeing the, the positive and what can be, or the negative and what won't be? And, fortunately for me, and maybe it was also divine intervention that God had with the doctor and the way he had the doctor choose to answer those. But you know, fortunately it was proposed from a positive slant.
Speaker 3:But that is a great question because, yeah, yeah, at the time I did want to die. Whether or not I would have said that, you know, who knows. But, um, I think the the real lesson and what you just pointed out there is how you choose to look at things, because do you want to live versus do you want to die? Those are two totally different frame of mind, totally different ways to go through life, and it again just shows how powerful the mind is and how powerful having the right attitude is.
Speaker 2:So how grateful are you today that you made that answer 15 years ago.
Speaker 3:Absolutely, I mean I can't even put it into words 15 years ago. Absolutely, I mean I can't even put it into words, as I always tell people, especially when I'm speaking and they may look at me, I'm like, don't worry, the story has a happy ending. But I had to go through quite a lot to get there and I don't think I ever would have realized. I may have started to realize, okay, I can have somewhat of a good life again, but I don't think I ever realized, like, how great of a life I could have. And don't get me wrong, I wish this had never happened. You know I'm not like.
Speaker 3:You know, thank you, jesus, for breaking my neck and putting me in a situation. But, you know, thank you, god, for being with me, for giving me the strength and for helping me get to where I am today. And thank you for giving, allowing me, that ability to be able to appreciate where I am today, because I do love my life. And certainly there's things I still want to accomplish, still want to do. May never do, who knows, but it's not going to stop me from going after them. And I never thought I'd be. I thought I might've gotten to a point where, okay, things are getting a little bit better, but no, if you would have asked me laying in that bed, or even months afterward when I was in therapy, are you ever going to be able to thrive? I thought no, if I was just surviving, that would be enough. But but the situation I find myself in today is what is what's just absolutely amazing.
Speaker 2:You know, here's what's impressive about that answer is that you said there are things that you may not get to do, but there are things that you may get to do. You know, we're seeing advancements in exoskeletons, we're seeing advancements in brain implants. How, in tune to that, are you, and are you at the forefront of helping that happen?
Speaker 3:I'm. I'm very in tune with it, to the point where I actually had spoken with, uh, elon musk's company, neuralink, and was with them as they had reached out to me about being one of the early participants. Um, for those that don't know, neuralink was putting chips into individuals' brains that would allow them to use their thoughts to control other things, and there's other reasons why I didn't choose to go through with it at that point in time, still very intrigued with what they're hoping to accomplish in the future. But that's just one way of saying yes to your question. I'm very involved, or very in tune with different things that are happening out there and I do follow them. But a big change that I made in my attitude was I don't hang on their words or let my outlook on life or my ability to want to do things be controlled by how feasible some of these exoskeletons and other things may be. I'm going to live my life each day. I'm going to wake up, be happy. I'm alive and do things, and great if there's advancements, whether it's in medicine, science, biomechanics, whatever that can help me, then certainly I'm open to that and, so to speak, and my strength and my attitude through things, I think that are much more important and things that are within my control, as opposed to how quickly science advances. So I'm certainly a proponent and advocate for science and for a lot of these groundbreaking technologies and hope they continue to get the funding, the support, the resources they need and, to a certain extent, understanding from the federal government that it's okay to want to try different things that might seem more unconventional because there could be a possible cure or a way to help other people out there. So I'm a big cheerleader for all of that.
Speaker 3:But I don't wake up hanging my hat on or my hope or letting my attitude be dictated by whether or not that does happen, and that wasn't always the case. Shortly after I got injured, all I wanted to do was read about stem cells and all this other stuff. But I finally learned and taught myself that acceptance of something doesn't mean you're giving up. And accepting my injury, accepting my situation, doesn't mean I'm giving up. It just means I'm now able to position, to understand what I'm up against and work through it and work through it. And for a while I did struggle with that and that's why I was really in into trying to find a cure. You know, and um, and you know, uh, a cure from outside rather than from my mind, or or from inside, because you know I had to accept that things were different and that made all the difference in the world, as you can imagine, kevin.
Speaker 2:Well, I hope that you'll accept this, that you're even more of a badass now that I know you than you were before we started this conversation.
Speaker 3:Brother.
Speaker 2:I can't thank you enough for joining me. I can't thank you enough for sharing your story and yourself. I said it before, I'm gonna say it again You're going to inspire me to look at my own life differently and on days where I don't want to go on, I'm going to say you know what, Think about Scott Fedor.
Speaker 3:Well, I appreciate that, you know, and I wish you obviously all the best in your continued journey and you know all your listeners that are. You know, we all struggle with challenges and adversity and, uh, you know, if it helps to think of my story, think of your story, think of others that they may have come across that inspire them.
Speaker 2:You know, it's not so much. It's not so much thinking about your story, scott. It's about thinking about what happened after your story, about how strong your mind is, about how grateful you are. You know, that's what. That's what I'm going to be thinking about. I'm not going to be thinking about scott in a wheelchair. I'm going to be thinking about scott thriving well, I appreciate that.
Speaker 3:I uh, you know it's. I'm glad that you're able to to use that. I really am and it's humbling, you know, to hear, to hear you say that. But, uh, I certainly appreciate it and thank you for the kind words and certainly for this opportunity just to hopefully reach some more people that are out there listening, that could use it and making a new friend with you in the process. Like I said, it's a lot of relationships otherwise might not have been able to ever come across had this not happened.
Speaker 2:How about that? One of my favorite conversations ever. Scott's book is Headstrong how a Broken Neck Strengthened my Spirit, and it's available on Amazon. To support Scott's organization, go to gettingbackuporg and Scott's website very simple, scottwfedorcom. Bookmark it so you can get his inspiring blogs as soon as he posts them. My thanks to Scott for joining me and my thanks to you for listening. Tuesdays are about inspiration and overcoming Wednesdays. Wednesdays are all about laughter and comedy, which is what you get with the Tuttle and Klein podcast. Listen to it on the same platform where you're listening to this now.
Speaker 2:The Fuzzy Mike is hosted and produced by Kevin Klein. Podcast voice is Zach Sheesh from the Radio Farm. Social media director is Trish Klein. Next week, kind of a milestone episode, episode number 100. I won't get into the statistical weeds with you right now about the significance of that number. I'll save that for next week. Ooh, stats and numbers, klein. Wow, I just can't wait, I know, but I will say that only 6.73% of all podcasts, of which there are over 3 million, reach 100 episodes. It's kind of exciting. Oh, and I'll be joined by a relatively well-known blonde actress who was in Playboy several times. Oh, and she also starred in Baywatch.
Speaker 1:See you, then, and I'm grateful for your time thanks for listening to this episode of the Fuzzy Mike with Kevin Kline. Check back often and stay fuzzy friends. Fuzzy Mike is a presentation of the Kevin Kline Fuzzy Mike Industry Incorporated LLC.