WEBVTT - DAVID R. MELLOR: "One Base At A Time" 0:00:04.559 --> 0:00:09.040 Has summer finally arrived in your corner of the world. 0:00:09.560 --> 0:00:13.160 Is summer a season you enjoy? Do you find yourself 0:00:13.280 --> 0:00:16.720 outside a lot or at least more than you do 0:00:16.760 --> 0:00:22.120 in the colder months. Is your idea of fun summer 0:00:22.160 --> 0:00:28.480 activities things like hiking, camping, kayaking? Or are you more 0:00:28.520 --> 0:00:31.320 of a go to the park that has those splash 0:00:31.440 --> 0:00:36.000 pads or reading under the shade of a tree or 0:00:36.680 --> 0:00:40.080 grilling in the backyard kind of person? How about a 0:00:40.120 --> 0:00:44.920 baseball game, Little League, big League? Your jam? Baseball is 0:00:45.000 --> 0:00:48.760 the great American pastime and if it's your thing, then 0:00:48.800 --> 0:00:53.800 today's podcast guest will be too. Baseball holds a special 0:00:53.880 --> 0:00:57.560 place in the hearts of Americans. The crack of the bat, 0:00:57.680 --> 0:01:01.600 the roar of the crowd, love to rute route for 0:01:01.640 --> 0:01:05.400 the home team, and how many of us dream of 0:01:05.480 --> 0:01:11.200 someday wearing the uniform of our favorite team player. Dave 0:01:11.360 --> 0:01:15.880 Miller was just that kid. In nineteen eighty one. He 0:01:16.000 --> 0:01:18.920 finished his senior year of high school as a star 0:01:19.120 --> 0:01:24.399 pitcher and had set his sights on college and hopefully 0:01:25.080 --> 0:01:30.280 a professional pitchers mound when a car careeming through a 0:01:30.400 --> 0:01:36.080 McDonald's parking lot changed his life forever. I don't want 0:01:36.080 --> 0:01:38.600 to get ahead of the story before I introduced David, 0:01:38.680 --> 0:01:42.240 so let me first tell you about an incredible podcast 0:01:42.319 --> 0:01:46.839 sponsor that helps to make today's conversation possible while also 0:01:47.240 --> 0:01:52.280 helping people around the world to live a fulfilled life 0:01:52.800 --> 0:01:58.800 and to accomplish their dreams. Mercy Ships has been transforming 0:01:58.920 --> 0:02:03.680 lives for a forty years. Many people in our world 0:02:03.760 --> 0:02:07.280 have no access to healthcare and as a result, they 0:02:07.320 --> 0:02:11.360 must endure pain and suffering. But with the support of 0:02:11.520 --> 0:02:16.280 volunteers and donors, Mercy Ships can go to these communities 0:02:16.720 --> 0:02:21.560 and perform free surgeries. 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Born with one windswept leg and one boat, 0:03:00.440 --> 0:03:03.600 he missed out on so many things kids love, but 0:03:03.720 --> 0:03:06.959 thanks to the treatment he received from Mercy Ships, A 0:03:07.080 --> 0:03:10.480 Modu can't wait to run around with his friends, and 0:03:10.560 --> 0:03:13.880 he dreams of all that lies ahead. Learn more about 0:03:13.919 --> 0:03:20.760 Mercyships at mercyships dot org. Today's special guest is a 0:03:20.760 --> 0:03:23.919 man that I find fascinating. I got your book, so 0:03:24.160 --> 0:03:28.799 let me introduce today's guest, David Millard. David, welcome, Hello. 0:03:28.840 --> 0:03:31.520 Thank you so much for opportunity to be on your show. 0:03:31.800 --> 0:03:36.720 So David, I did not grow up in a baseball town, 0:03:37.160 --> 0:03:39.200 and when I moved to the East Coast, the first 0:03:39.240 --> 0:03:45.160 apartment I got in Boston was right off the fins. 0:03:46.480 --> 0:03:49.720 I could see the big Green Monster from my little 0:03:50.120 --> 0:03:50.960 fire escape. 0:03:51.280 --> 0:03:52.120 Outstanding. 0:03:52.320 --> 0:03:56.240 But your story of your love affair with baseball goes 0:03:56.280 --> 0:04:00.000 back to birth, goes back to generations. Tell me your story. 0:04:00.600 --> 0:04:03.320 My grandfather played nineteen oh two in the major leagues. 0:04:03.760 --> 0:04:07.040 My father was born in Rhode Island, or lived in 0:04:07.600 --> 0:04:11.000 My grandfather was from Rhode Island. My family lived throughout 0:04:11.040 --> 0:04:14.520 New England, and even though I was born in Ohio, 0:04:15.120 --> 0:04:17.960 I was raised to be a Red Sox fan, and 0:04:18.040 --> 0:04:21.760 my dream growing up was to follow in my grandfather's 0:04:21.760 --> 0:04:24.640 footsteps and make it to the majors as a player, 0:04:25.200 --> 0:04:29.719 and I had scholarship opportunities in high school and had 0:04:29.760 --> 0:04:34.080 planned on playing college ball and had some professional teams 0:04:34.600 --> 0:04:37.640 looking at me and scouting me, and I certainly had 0:04:37.640 --> 0:04:40.720 the passion for it and had opportunities. 0:04:40.800 --> 0:04:42.560 And a month after. 0:04:42.320 --> 0:04:45.200 I got out of high school, we were going to 0:04:45.200 --> 0:04:48.080 be heading to a state tournament, and my coach said, 0:04:48.120 --> 0:04:50.920 you know, David, I would wait to sign a letter 0:04:50.960 --> 0:04:54.039 of scholarship because if you do well at the state tournament, 0:04:54.040 --> 0:04:55.360 you'll have more opportunities. 0:04:55.920 --> 0:04:57.360 I said, that sounds great, coach. 0:04:58.200 --> 0:05:01.159 And on a Friday night, on the weekend night, my 0:05:01.520 --> 0:05:04.160 buddy said, how off we stopped by McDonald's and get 0:05:04.160 --> 0:05:07.200 a bite to eat, And so we pulled into McDonald's 0:05:07.240 --> 0:05:09.640 and got out of the car to start walking across 0:05:09.680 --> 0:05:14.120 the parking lot, and I realized I had forgotten my wallet, 0:05:14.240 --> 0:05:17.080 and so he went ahead and walked into McDonald's and 0:05:17.080 --> 0:05:19.520 I went back to my car and got my wallet 0:05:19.680 --> 0:05:23.000 and turned around and started walking across the parking lot. 0:05:23.040 --> 0:05:25.200 And now in the corner of my eye, I saw 0:05:25.240 --> 0:05:28.520 a car come off the street, and so I stopped 0:05:28.839 --> 0:05:31.839 and motioned with my arm for them to drive through, 0:05:32.560 --> 0:05:36.120 and they stopped and motioned for me to start walking, 0:05:36.680 --> 0:05:40.680 and so I started walking. And then I heard them 0:05:40.760 --> 0:05:43.720 rev their engine and squeal their tires, and I had 0:05:43.839 --> 0:05:46.560 enough time to look up to my left and the 0:05:46.600 --> 0:05:50.520 car was speeding toward me. I raised my left leg 0:05:50.960 --> 0:05:53.320 and kind of put both my hands up. The car 0:05:53.440 --> 0:05:56.880 hit me, threw me twenty feet in the air. I 0:05:57.000 --> 0:06:00.200 slammed into the brick wall where the door jutted out 0:06:00.240 --> 0:06:05.480 at McDonald's entrance, and landed right in that corner at 0:06:05.480 --> 0:06:06.440 the base of the wall. 0:06:07.040 --> 0:06:09.440 And looked up and the. 0:06:09.320 --> 0:06:12.400 Car was speeding at a higher rate of speed and 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:15.520 ripped the handrail out of the cement and pinned the 0:06:15.600 --> 0:06:17.360 handrail with the. 0:06:17.320 --> 0:06:19.039 Bumper against my knee against the wall. 0:06:20.240 --> 0:06:23.840 And luckily I landed literally right in that corner, because 0:06:23.880 --> 0:06:24.839 otherwise the car. 0:06:24.720 --> 0:06:26.040 Would have cut you in half. 0:06:26.240 --> 0:06:28.920 Yes, ma'am, it would have been much worse, I thought 0:06:28.960 --> 0:06:31.000 at the time. Not only did it crush my leg, 0:06:31.560 --> 0:06:33.280 I worried it crushed my dreams of. 0:06:33.440 --> 0:06:34.800 Making it to the major leagues. 0:06:35.200 --> 0:06:38.599 And my family said, you know, David, I was My 0:06:38.640 --> 0:06:41.520 father died when I was three, and I was raised 0:06:41.520 --> 0:06:45.200 to believe that adversity makes you stronger and they said, David, 0:06:45.240 --> 0:06:48.800 you know, really you're lucky. You know you have this 0:06:48.960 --> 0:06:52.840 time to find a career that you love to do, 0:06:53.680 --> 0:06:58.120 because so many people don't enjoy their career. You know, 0:06:58.160 --> 0:07:02.159 it's just a job, and you have this time during 0:07:02.200 --> 0:07:06.880 your surgeries to find a passion that you really love. 0:07:07.880 --> 0:07:09.880 And so I walked on crutches for two and a 0:07:09.920 --> 0:07:13.120 half years, walked with it can for ten months, had 0:07:13.120 --> 0:07:15.360 to learn how to walk again, as I had at 0:07:15.360 --> 0:07:19.600 that time seven surgeries, and I thought, what do I 0:07:19.640 --> 0:07:24.480 really love? And I realized I enjoyed science in school. 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:28.480 I wanted a job that was outside more than inside. 0:07:29.360 --> 0:07:33.520 I enjoyed taking care of people's lawns growing up to 0:07:33.560 --> 0:07:37.920 earn money. I loved baseball, and I thought someone had 0:07:37.960 --> 0:07:41.160 to be a major league groundskeeper. And my brother lived 0:07:41.200 --> 0:07:44.080 in Milwaukee at the time and told me if I 0:07:44.120 --> 0:07:48.560 could get a job with the Milwaukee Brewers, I could 0:07:48.560 --> 0:07:52.200 live with him to save money. So after many many 0:07:52.280 --> 0:07:55.880 phone calls to the Brewers kind of be in a 0:07:55.880 --> 0:07:59.080 squeaky wheel, they said, hey, we'll give you a chance 0:07:59.120 --> 0:08:01.800 to work on our day of games crew on the 0:08:01.800 --> 0:08:05.160 ground crew. And man, I thought I won the lottery. 0:08:05.280 --> 0:08:09.320 I was so excited, and I was planning to go 0:08:09.400 --> 0:08:13.320 to Ohio State to get a degree in agronomy and landscape. 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:15.600 I got to I got to interject here and back 0:08:15.680 --> 0:08:19.080 up a little bit, because there's a few questions looming here. 0:08:20.120 --> 0:08:22.840 The person who hit you, were they intoxicated, were the 0:08:22.880 --> 0:08:27.200 inexperienced driver? Was there car malfunction? Did the gas pedal 0:08:27.240 --> 0:08:27.760 get stuck? 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:28.000 Like? 0:08:29.000 --> 0:08:32.800 How does somebody motion you to go across and then 0:08:32.880 --> 0:08:34.840 run you down and nearly kill you? 0:08:34.840 --> 0:08:37.440 You know, she said she stepped on the gas instead 0:08:37.440 --> 0:08:39.280 of the break. It's just one of those one of 0:08:39.280 --> 0:08:42.120 those things. So she hit me twice that day. 0:08:42.640 --> 0:08:45.520 That kind of trauma you probably don't ever want to remember. 0:08:46.840 --> 0:08:49.760 You know, a lot of people think I'm one of 0:08:49.760 --> 0:08:52.560 the most unlucky people in the world. You know, I've 0:08:52.559 --> 0:08:56.200 had fifty surgeries, I've been hit by a car three times. 0:08:56.400 --> 0:08:58.240 We can talk about the third time here in the minute, 0:08:58.360 --> 0:09:01.480 and I've ended up in a medical coma. 0:09:02.000 --> 0:09:03.839 But I think I'm one of the most. 0:09:03.960 --> 0:09:06.240 Luckiest people in the world because if I wouldn't have 0:09:06.280 --> 0:09:08.960 gotten hit by a car that day, I never would 0:09:09.000 --> 0:09:12.800 have met my wife, who's absolutely my best friend. I 0:09:12.880 --> 0:09:15.680 never would have had two amazing daughters in my life. 0:09:16.280 --> 0:09:17.559 I wouldn't have. 0:09:17.880 --> 0:09:22.400 Three amazing grandchildren, I wouldn't have a career that I 0:09:22.480 --> 0:09:25.640 enjoyed so much. And I wouldn't have had a service 0:09:25.679 --> 0:09:30.000 dog named Drago, who passed away in June last year, 0:09:30.040 --> 0:09:33.880 but who literally changed my life and also helped bring 0:09:33.920 --> 0:09:36.840 awareness to how important service dogs are to so many people. 0:09:37.160 --> 0:09:39.720 People think I'm unlucky, but I really feel blessed the 0:09:39.760 --> 0:09:40.439 life I've had. 0:09:40.920 --> 0:09:43.480 That wasn't the end of the trauma. That was just 0:09:43.520 --> 0:09:47.240 the beginning. Yes, ma'am, because I read your books, So 0:09:47.280 --> 0:09:51.720 go ahead and share about the other things that happened. 0:09:51.760 --> 0:09:55.000 So you get this job, you love your job. You're 0:09:55.080 --> 0:09:58.520 starting this direction of a groundskeeper. 0:09:58.960 --> 0:09:59.160 You know. 0:09:59.200 --> 0:10:01.480 My job's next best thing to play in. I get 0:10:01.520 --> 0:10:04.120 to be on the major league field. And in nineteen 0:10:04.160 --> 0:10:06.880 ninety five, when I was working for the Milwaukee Brewers, 0:10:07.240 --> 0:10:10.079 we were resurfacing in the field. In the fall of 0:10:10.200 --> 0:10:13.000 ninety five, I was out in left field working and 0:10:13.559 --> 0:10:17.480 we had a big left field double gates to get 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:21.840 equipment on and off the field, and beautiful. 0:10:21.320 --> 0:10:25.120 Fall day, and I heard a car and I thought, 0:10:25.200 --> 0:10:26.839 that's unusual. There shouldn't be a car. 0:10:27.160 --> 0:10:29.640 You know, near the field, and I looked up and 0:10:29.679 --> 0:10:33.040 there was a car coming toward the field that must 0:10:33.040 --> 0:10:36.080 have gotten through, you know, behind the bleachers somehow, and 0:10:36.559 --> 0:10:39.600 so I put both my arms up to you know, 0:10:39.720 --> 0:10:43.840 motion for the car to stop, and the driver stepped 0:10:43.840 --> 0:10:46.680 on the gas and came right at me, and the 0:10:46.760 --> 0:10:49.719 car hit me. I hit the windshield and landed on 0:10:49.760 --> 0:10:54.040 the warning track, and the car went speeding down the 0:10:54.080 --> 0:10:57.720 outfield warning track, made a full lap around the warning track, 0:10:59.160 --> 0:11:02.160 and as I was laying against the wallpad, the car 0:11:02.240 --> 0:11:05.400 kept coming a full lap around the warning track, and 0:11:05.440 --> 0:11:09.719 then the driver started aiming right at me, and I thought, Oh, 0:11:09.720 --> 0:11:13.280 my gosh, what's this lady doing. And at the last minute, 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:18.720 she swerves and misses me and slams on the brakes 0:11:18.760 --> 0:11:21.520 and stops, leans up in her car and waves at 0:11:21.520 --> 0:11:25.440 me and then peels out and covers me in track 0:11:25.480 --> 0:11:30.040 material and goes out the gate. And it just took 0:11:30.080 --> 0:11:34.080 me a minute to kind of gather myself, and I 0:11:34.280 --> 0:11:37.640 yelled to one of the crew members after she first 0:11:37.720 --> 0:11:41.120 hit me to lock up the big steel double gates 0:11:41.160 --> 0:11:44.280 behind the bleachers so she couldn't get away. And so 0:11:44.440 --> 0:11:48.880 after she pulled out of the field, I pulled myself 0:11:49.000 --> 0:11:53.240 up against the outfield pads and made my way behind 0:11:53.240 --> 0:11:56.959 the bleachers, and by the time I got out there, 0:11:57.640 --> 0:12:02.679 she was out of her carreaming obscenities at the security 0:12:02.720 --> 0:12:06.400 guard telling her to let her out. And I noticed 0:12:06.400 --> 0:12:09.920 her keys were still in the ignition and the car 0:12:10.040 --> 0:12:14.719 was running, and so I turned the car off and 0:12:14.760 --> 0:12:16.520 took the keys because they didn't want her to hurt 0:12:16.600 --> 0:12:20.079 someone else. It turned out my knee was re injured 0:12:20.960 --> 0:12:24.520 and ended up having to have surgeon and ultimately, in 0:12:24.559 --> 0:12:26.240 the long run, a knee replacement. 0:12:26.960 --> 0:12:28.280 It could have been so much worse. 0:12:28.600 --> 0:12:30.080 So was she held accountable. 0:12:30.280 --> 0:12:33.920 She had some mental health issues and she wasn't on 0:12:33.960 --> 0:12:38.280 her medicine, and she was just had some misunderstandings going 0:12:38.320 --> 0:12:39.439 on in her mind. 0:12:39.880 --> 0:12:43.400 You have a lot of grace, David Miller. You have 0:12:43.480 --> 0:12:44.240 a lot of grace. 0:12:44.559 --> 0:12:47.560 Well, you know, we all have challenges in our lives, 0:12:47.600 --> 0:12:50.320 and you know there was a time when, you know, 0:12:50.360 --> 0:12:53.520 I had one to five horrific nightmares for twenty nine 0:12:53.600 --> 0:12:57.839 years when I first got hit by the car in 0:12:57.840 --> 0:13:00.280 this car, and I was scared to go to leap 0:13:00.280 --> 0:13:03.079 at night. I didn't know what was wrong, and I 0:13:03.080 --> 0:13:05.760 didn't think anybody could understand it, and I didn't think 0:13:05.760 --> 0:13:07.720 anybody else had really challenges. 0:13:08.040 --> 0:13:09.840 And now I know when. 0:13:09.720 --> 0:13:12.000 I look up at Fenway Park and see thirty seven 0:13:12.080 --> 0:13:16.240 thousand people in the stands, I know everybody there, either 0:13:16.280 --> 0:13:20.079 themselves or one of their loved ones, has some challenge 0:13:20.080 --> 0:13:24.240 in their life. And one there's nothing to be ashamed 0:13:24.320 --> 0:13:27.200 of to ask for help. And it takes courage to 0:13:27.320 --> 0:13:30.440 ask for help. And I want people to know that. 0:13:31.280 --> 0:13:34.040 You know, when my wife and I wrote my memoir, 0:13:34.160 --> 0:13:38.800 our memoir, we were hoping if sharing our story through 0:13:39.360 --> 0:13:45.160 programs like your Wonderful program, through other opportunities, or the memoir, 0:13:45.280 --> 0:13:49.880 if we could help one person know that helps available 0:13:50.600 --> 0:13:54.040 and treatment works, and that they're not alone. It's worth 0:13:54.080 --> 0:13:57.920 sharing that story because we all have different challenges in 0:13:57.960 --> 0:14:01.880 our lives, and there was time I didn't understand that. 0:14:02.000 --> 0:14:04.280 I just tried to suck it up and think I'll 0:14:04.320 --> 0:14:05.120 just work through it. 0:14:10.480 --> 0:14:13.920 So how were you eventually diagnosed with PTSD? Was that 0:14:14.000 --> 0:14:17.640 your wife's doing? Tell our audience how you finally went, 0:14:17.679 --> 0:14:20.120 wait a minute, there's a name for this, there's treatment 0:14:20.200 --> 0:14:22.840 for this. I don't have to suffer like this in silence. 0:14:23.560 --> 0:14:28.560 Yes, ma'am I thought PTSD could only happen to veterans 0:14:28.680 --> 0:14:29.520 or someone in war. 0:14:29.920 --> 0:14:32.360 And my daughter was going to. 0:14:32.280 --> 0:14:36.160 School for psychology to be a doctor in psychology. And 0:14:36.480 --> 0:14:39.640 when she was in college, she got an internship at 0:14:39.640 --> 0:14:42.480 a wonderful program here in Boston called the home Base 0:14:42.560 --> 0:14:46.360 program that was started with Mats General in the Red 0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:50.880 Sox Foundation help veterans and their families dealing with post 0:14:50.920 --> 0:14:56.520 traumatic stress. And I was getting an acupuncture treatment in 0:14:56.520 --> 0:15:01.400 twenty ten, and before I went into the the treatment, 0:15:01.520 --> 0:15:05.160 and I picked up a Smithsonian magazine and I laid 0:15:05.200 --> 0:15:07.400 down on the table and I just opened up this 0:15:07.520 --> 0:15:11.640 magazine and the first page I opened up to was 0:15:11.680 --> 0:15:16.080 about a new treatment facility offering treatments for veterans dealing 0:15:16.160 --> 0:15:20.080 with PTSD. So I thought I'd read this article to 0:15:20.200 --> 0:15:24.000 learn more about what my daughter was learning about. 0:15:24.120 --> 0:15:27.080 So you thought you were going to enrich your mind 0:15:27.560 --> 0:15:30.240 just so you could then understand your daughter and her 0:15:30.320 --> 0:15:34.720 program more. Yes, ma'am not thinking about yourself, not thinking about. 0:15:34.600 --> 0:15:38.720 Totally, Just hoping to learn more about my daughter and 0:15:39.520 --> 0:15:42.640 how proud I was of her, and learn more about 0:15:42.640 --> 0:15:45.000 what she was doing and how the Red Sox were 0:15:45.000 --> 0:15:48.400 helping veterans and MATS General was helping veterans, and the 0:15:48.440 --> 0:15:52.880 first paragraph listed twelve symptoms of post traumatic stress. And 0:15:52.920 --> 0:15:57.160 I started reading it and chills ran through me and 0:15:57.320 --> 0:16:00.720 literally tears started going down my face because I could 0:16:00.800 --> 0:16:06.360 actively feel ten of these twelve symptoms. Only the ones 0:16:06.400 --> 0:16:11.240 I did not have were suicide or drug use either. 0:16:11.600 --> 0:16:16.160 You know, I had anxiety. You know I had nightmares. 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:19.480 There were so many of these. I listed them in 0:16:19.560 --> 0:16:23.080 the book. There were just so many things that I 0:16:23.120 --> 0:16:26.200 could relate to, and I thought, oh my gosh. While 0:16:26.200 --> 0:16:29.960 it scared me, it gave me hope. It was like, 0:16:30.040 --> 0:16:32.440 oh my gosh, maybe this is what I have and 0:16:32.480 --> 0:16:35.960 I've had for the last twenty nine years. And if 0:16:36.080 --> 0:16:39.840 I could get treatment, not only hopefully it helps me, 0:16:40.640 --> 0:16:44.320 but hopefully I can be a better husband, I can 0:16:44.360 --> 0:16:49.400 be a better dad, I could be a better boss, friend, mentor, 0:16:50.000 --> 0:16:54.280 and hopefully I can help others. And my wife is 0:16:54.320 --> 0:16:58.440 my absolute, my best friend. But I was scared to 0:16:58.600 --> 0:17:03.400 share with her how scary my nightmares were. You know, 0:17:03.480 --> 0:17:06.280 I slept with the TV on every night loud so 0:17:06.320 --> 0:17:08.280 that when I would scream out at night, I would 0:17:08.280 --> 0:17:10.560 try to tell the kids, hey, that was a TV. 0:17:10.680 --> 0:17:14.880 When they would say, what was that noise? And they knew, 0:17:15.160 --> 0:17:17.880 you know, as I found out, you know, they knew 0:17:17.960 --> 0:17:18.880 something was going on. 0:17:19.119 --> 0:17:21.320 They had known all along, but they didn't know what 0:17:21.359 --> 0:17:24.040 it was. I'm sure correct, correct. 0:17:24.240 --> 0:17:28.600 PTSD affects the whole family. And it's not just from 0:17:29.000 --> 0:17:32.200 war and veterans don't just get it. It comes from 0:17:32.320 --> 0:17:35.960 you know, the leading cause of PTSD and men is 0:17:36.040 --> 0:17:39.720 car crashes, and it comes from sexual abuse, It comes 0:17:39.800 --> 0:17:43.959 from fires, and it comes from any kind of trauma 0:17:44.080 --> 0:17:47.800 can cause PTSD and there's nothing to be a shame of. 0:17:48.119 --> 0:17:50.919 And here's the interesting thing that you brought up in 0:17:50.960 --> 0:17:53.640 your book that I think a lot of people don't 0:17:53.640 --> 0:17:57.960 realize is that it may not happen right after the 0:17:58.000 --> 0:18:03.320 traumatic event. You may not develop PTSD until months or 0:18:03.400 --> 0:18:07.600 even years after the trauma happened. 0:18:07.960 --> 0:18:14.320 And triggers, you know, sights, sounds, smells can trigger these. 0:18:14.600 --> 0:18:16.320 Anxieties and these. 0:18:16.200 --> 0:18:21.920 Emotions to cause flashbacks and memories. You know, it may 0:18:21.960 --> 0:18:27.440 sound weird to people. People could relate to squealing tires 0:18:27.720 --> 0:18:34.959 and reving engines to the car crashes causing anxiety or 0:18:35.000 --> 0:18:38.760 flashbacks to me, but literally, the smell of McDonald's French 0:18:38.760 --> 0:18:43.560 fries would cause flashbacks and anxieties. People would bring McDonald's 0:18:43.560 --> 0:18:45.600 back to lunch and I would have to leave the 0:18:45.680 --> 0:18:48.280 room because I would break out in cold sweats, I 0:18:48.280 --> 0:18:50.439 would get chills, I would turn bright red. 0:18:50.880 --> 0:18:54.879 That's unfortunate because McDonald's fries are one of God's gifts 0:18:54.920 --> 0:18:55.560 to the world. 0:18:57.480 --> 0:18:59.199 I do a joy I joyed. 0:18:59.320 --> 0:19:01.800 I rarely buy them, but boy do I enjoy them 0:19:01.840 --> 0:19:02.200 when I do. 0:19:03.280 --> 0:19:06.919 'A I can relate to that. It's something that I 0:19:07.040 --> 0:19:08.000 just want people to know. 0:19:08.040 --> 0:19:11.480 And I appreciate opportunity on your show to help people 0:19:11.560 --> 0:19:16.359 know that help is available and that it's not going 0:19:16.400 --> 0:19:18.920 to be ashamed of to ask for help. 0:19:19.000 --> 0:19:21.880 And if you do ask for help, that there's a lot. 0:19:21.840 --> 0:19:24.640 Of different kinds of treatment whether and if you don't 0:19:24.680 --> 0:19:27.600 click with that first counselor or that first type of treatment, 0:19:27.880 --> 0:19:29.639 hey try another one. 0:19:30.240 --> 0:19:34.160 You know, I've been very blessed with incredible counselors and 0:19:34.400 --> 0:19:36.720 I'm proud to you know, I just talked to my 0:19:36.760 --> 0:19:39.680 counselor yesterday and I'm proud to do that. 0:19:39.960 --> 0:19:43.760 And you know, there's different types of counseling, and it 0:19:44.480 --> 0:19:45.639 literally is life changing. 0:19:46.080 --> 0:19:47.040 It changed my life. 0:19:47.400 --> 0:19:51.000 It's helped my family And another part of therapy that's 0:19:51.040 --> 0:19:54.200 helped me is I had a service dog that came 0:19:54.200 --> 0:19:57.080 into my life in twenty fourteen. 0:19:57.000 --> 0:20:01.840 That became quite famous in the Boston area. Our service 0:20:01.920 --> 0:20:04.440 dog went with you everywhere he did. 0:20:04.480 --> 0:20:06.600 His name was Drago and. 0:20:06.880 --> 0:20:12.920 Drago the dog O, who was a beautiful German shepherd. Correct, yes, ma'am, 0:20:13.200 --> 0:20:13.639 he was. 0:20:15.240 --> 0:20:18.560 He literally helped bring awareness to service dogs and how 0:20:18.600 --> 0:20:21.920 life changing they were and are, and how. 0:20:21.880 --> 0:20:22.720 Much he was to me. 0:20:22.880 --> 0:20:27.040 And he ESPN did a special on him, if it's 0:20:27.040 --> 0:20:29.520 all right to say that they did one called Dave 0:20:29.600 --> 0:20:33.560 and drog Go to bring my awareness to service dogs. 0:20:33.160 --> 0:20:38.359 And he literally was an ambassador for service dogs. And 0:20:37.640 --> 0:20:42.879 he gave me a confidence to take on challenges and 0:20:43.040 --> 0:20:46.560 open up a world that I hadn't dealt with in 0:20:47.400 --> 0:20:51.240 twenty nine years or thirty years plus. And he passed 0:20:51.280 --> 0:20:55.240 away June seventeenth last year from a stroke. And I'm 0:20:55.240 --> 0:20:58.600 in the process of had a great call last two 0:20:58.680 --> 0:21:02.440 days with an organization foundation that we're hoping to connect 0:21:02.440 --> 0:21:07.119 with for a new service dog and service dogs or 0:21:08.000 --> 0:21:10.760 another part of helping mental health. 0:21:10.840 --> 0:21:14.760 Oh yeah, there's something about the love of a four 0:21:15.240 --> 0:21:17.800 legged creature that is healing. 0:21:18.359 --> 0:21:19.439 Yes, ma'am. 0:21:19.760 --> 0:21:23.160 The things David is endured and how he's turned tragedy 0:21:23.200 --> 0:21:27.000 into triumph gives me chills. We've got a little more 0:21:27.040 --> 0:21:29.720 time with David today, so let me tell you about 0:21:29.720 --> 0:21:35.000 another podcast sponsor that is responsible for bringing this inspiring 0:21:35.240 --> 0:21:39.960 story to you. 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So, David, Boston is your home, That's where 0:22:34.520 --> 0:22:37.320 your heart was, That's where your dreams were. How did 0:22:37.359 --> 0:22:43.240 you get from the other ballparks to back home to 0:22:43.640 --> 0:22:47.119 the Big Green Monster into Fenway Park and the hot dogs. 0:22:47.119 --> 0:22:48.560 Oh my gosh, the hot dogs. 0:22:48.760 --> 0:22:51.399 You know, that was an interesting story. You know. 0:22:51.440 --> 0:22:55.080 I was working for the Milwaukee Brewers and I just 0:22:55.200 --> 0:22:56.240 moved into. 0:22:56.000 --> 0:22:58.720 The new ballpark, into my new office. 0:22:58.800 --> 0:23:02.720 And the Cincinnati read had called and offered me a 0:23:02.760 --> 0:23:07.280 head job at their new ballpark. And my wife's family 0:23:07.320 --> 0:23:10.399 still lived in Ohio and so it was an interesting 0:23:10.600 --> 0:23:14.400 opportunity and appreciated the offer, but we just couldn't come 0:23:14.400 --> 0:23:18.000 to terms. So I respectfully turned it down. And they 0:23:18.920 --> 0:23:21.199 called back and said, you know, we would still like 0:23:21.280 --> 0:23:24.440 to negotiate for one more week. Would you be willing 0:23:24.480 --> 0:23:28.800 to negotiate till next Saturday? And I said sure, and 0:23:28.960 --> 0:23:32.440 out of the blue, on that Wednesday, mister Mooney, who 0:23:32.480 --> 0:23:35.800 was the groundskeeper for the Red Sox for thirty years, 0:23:35.840 --> 0:23:40.359 called me and said, David, I'm thinking about retiring, but 0:23:40.440 --> 0:23:43.880 I'll only retire if you replace me. And I said, 0:23:43.920 --> 0:23:46.960 oh my gosh, mister Mooney, you know, I'm incredibly humbled. 0:23:47.320 --> 0:23:49.320 I have to give the reds an answer on Saturday. 0:23:49.840 --> 0:23:52.560 And he said, I will have John Buckley, who was 0:23:52.640 --> 0:23:54.600 the president of the club. I'll have him call you. 0:23:54.880 --> 0:23:57.720 We'll get you out here on Friday, and the Red 0:23:57.720 --> 0:24:01.280