Ep.243 When Life Throws Up A Detour Sign with Steve and Michelle

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Welcome to Maladin Michelle. I'm Michelle, and this is Dave. And almost five years in, and we have never missed an episode being released. And like it or not, you get to hear us every single week. And I just wanted to give you a couple of little statistics about that. We're doing our podcast a little bit. Well, I'm gonna, yeah, go I'm gonna go ahead and welcome to the show, everybody. Welcome to the show. Welcome to the show. Most podcasts last less than seven episodes before quitting.

SPEAKER_03 0:32

I you know, when I was researching setting this podcast up, it it blew my mind the number of podcasts because there's been millions and millions that have come out, and how many have failed.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

And so if you make it um uh if you look at the on paper, most podcasts only run about two seasons. And when I was reading it said they never go past 20 to 50 episodes. And we are almost to 250 episodes.

SPEAKER_02 0:59

Almost, I think 244 on uh this one's 243, so 244 now.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

244. So if you look at all of the um algorithms and all the little metrics that they look at, there's there's the longevity, there's the active, the activity, how many episodes they put out. When you combine all of that, we are in an incredibly elite bracket, which makes us in the top 1% of all podcasts globally.

SPEAKER_03 1:26

It's pretty wild, isn't it, to think this little thing we thought we'd be talking to about 10 people a week has turned into uh almost like a movement. We have some very, very loyal listeners. They they listen to every episode and that we'll see them out parties and stuff, and they'll come up and repeat things back to us that we said. It's it's it's been wild. It's been really fun to see it come all together.

SPEAKER_01 1:49

Yeah, it really has. And I think that that's why today is really special. Um, and it's a little unusual today, because this Friday, my partner in crime, my co-host, and the man sitting right across from me, Steve Mallet, is having open heart surgery. And because Steve, we're obviously gonna talk about it before he goes in, because apparently having his chest cracked open isn't enough attention for one week. But seriously, this isn't something that came from years of bad habit or Steve doing something wrong, even though I do have a long list of things. Steve has a genetic condition and he's reached to the point where service assert his surgery is necessary. So today we're gonna talk about what he has and we're done. How we found out what they're gonna do Friday, what the recovery looks like. And and you know, I'm gonna say, look, we're probably gonna laugh. We're probably gonna be a little bit inappropriate because that's also what we do.

SPEAKER_03 2:44

But we're gonna have you learn these things about yourself. Yeah, I mean, really, all you can do is approach it with some laughter and just you know be a little cavalier about it. If you get real serious and get in your head, that doesn't do anything.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

No, it doesn't, but we're gonna have just a real conversation with my friend Steve.

SPEAKER_03 2:59

Oh, thank you.

SPEAKER_01 3:00

And we're gonna talk about something pretty damn scary. So, Steve, how are you doing?

SPEAKER_03 3:04

I'm doing all right. Uh and I'll give you a little background on this. Um, you know, most people that listen, uh and uh some probably that don't. I'm a runner. I've been a runner for a long time. I'm not that can you believe that to the point where my license blade on my car says Realtor Runner? Uh a lot of my my really good friends I've met, you know, through the running community over the years.

SPEAKER_01 3:27

You're gonna have to change it to say open heart.

SPEAKER_03 3:31

Yeah, open heart realtor. Um, and so you know, I uh felt really good this uh you know, January, February, March, had some really great runs um to the point where my running group, uh some sometimes I was leaving them behind. I felt so good. And then in May, uh I started having some weird symptoms where I couldn't catch my breath. And we did a 10-mile run the end of uh May, and I could not hold a pace at all, and I was having to walk and shuffle through it. And uh we went home and Holly and I were working in the garage and I started having this really severe chest pain. So um I denied it and denied it and denied it.

SPEAKER_01 4:17

Yeah, because apparently he's a doctor too, Dr. Mellon. I know y'all didn't know that.

SPEAKER_03 4:20

Yeah, but I I I go in the house and I get a drink and I pop an aspirin, and then I'm like, I think I'm having a freaking heart attack. And so I go out in the garage. Holly likes telling the story. So I just kind of stand there next to her, she's working, and I'm kind of hovering, and she looks up into me and she goes, What's wrong? I go, I think I need to go to the yard, I think I'm having a heart attack. She's what? What? And she goes, Well, get in the car, I'll take you to the hospital. I go, I gotta take a shower. Oh, yes. If I'm having a heart attack, I'm gonna be in the hospital for a few days. I the last thing I've been out here in the garage, I'm stinky, I'm sweaty, I'm gonna take a shower.

SPEAKER_00 5:02

God forbid I have dirty drawers on.

SPEAKER_03 5:05

Get in a car. I'm like, I'm taking a shower. I took a quick shower. We went, we drove to Baylor Scott and White um in Lakeway, and they were great. I walked in, I go, I am a 63-year-old man, I have chest pain. They're like, come on right in. We got a room for you right here. And uh they did all those tests that they do, and they say, You're not having a heart attack, but you need to see a cardiologist. Something's not right. But and I did a bunch of tests, long story short.

SPEAKER_01 5:28

And you they discovered that you had a genetic condition.

SPEAKER_03 5:31

So I want you something I was born with.

SPEAKER_01 5:33

I want you to explain it to us like we're not a cardiologist.

SPEAKER_03 5:36

So, yeah, it took me a long time to figure this out. Uh, because you know, all the tests, you know, the it was uh uh malignant uh aortic something with malignant course. Anyway, uh of course I put it in chat GPT.

SPEAKER_00 5:50

I was just shocked he had a heart, people.

SPEAKER_03 5:53

Like all people that are diagnosed with something they don't understand, of course, the first thing you do is put it in a chat GPT. But um, it is a in layman's terms, it is the artery that feeds the right side of my heart has a weird course, meaning it comes off my of my aorta at a weird angle, and it's when my heart is beating really hard, like during running, it is tense, and I don't get enough blood flow to the right side of my heart. So they're gonna do it's called an unroofing where they, for lack of a better word, they just make a little more space for that artery, and um, then it won't be crimped when that when when everything's pumping. So you're gonna be roofy? I'm gonna be roofy. Oh gosh, I wish that's what it was. That sounds way more pleasant than what they're gonna do. And yeah, and I, you know, when I asked when I met with my cardiologist, he goes, I go, Well, what's the how do you fix that? He goes, Well, it's open heart surgery. And I go, Well, what do you mean? He goes, Well, you have to talk to a surgeon. I can't, I I don't know anything else about it. I'm like, so it took me like four weeks to cardiac surgeon before. Um, I've met with uh Dr. Brendan DeWan at the aeriothoracic uh vascular surgeons, and he's a great guy. Duke graduate, was a captain of the football team, like really a great guy. Um, I think he went to UT Medical Medical School.

SPEAKER_01 7:17

Is he a left-handed surgeon or is he a right-handed surgeon?

SPEAKER_03 7:20

He's got a little short one. No, he uh he was a really good guy. He sat with us for about 45 minutes and explained the procedure and what I'd expect. But it is it's involved. It's uh it's and I it's been hard for me because I I people ask me all the time, are you trying to live forever? Is that why you run and work out? I mean I'm not trying to live forever. I'm actually just trying to to live a good productive life. And this came out of the blue, and here I am. I you know anybody knows me. I try and take care of myself, and it didn't matter.

SPEAKER_01 7:54

Exhaustingly so, people. Let me tell you. So, was there one test result that made the doctor say, Okay, this is it, this is time, this is what you need to? Because up the the weeks leading up to it, you would look at me and you'd say, I'm not convinced I even need this. I was like, Okay, doctor.

SPEAKER_03 8:10

I was uh you know what? I was actually saying that right up until I met with the cardiovascular surgeon. And he walked in, he introduced himself, he sat down and goes, So how is this discovered? And I was like, Wow, that's not the question I was expecting.

SPEAKER_00 8:23

What do you mean you're the doctor?

SPEAKER_03 8:24

Yeah, no, but he meant he meant what symptoms made you go to the doctor in the first place. And I told him, you know, hey, I'm very active, you know. Last year my wife and I ran 50 miles in the Grand Canyon, you know, we'd backpack and we're swim. And I said, I just started having these chest pains. And so the test that the I had the uh catheterization, which is what most people will have, yeah, and they look for blockages. I actually have my heart, my heart doctor said my arteries are like that of a 40-year-old man.

SPEAKER_01 8:56

Of course they are, Mallet. Of course.

SPEAKER_03 8:58

I'm getting a t-shirt made next week. I'm sure I have the arteries of a 40-year-old man. No, uh, but and so he said, There is no blockages. And I actually went home from that from the catheterization, and he's he came in the room and he said, You know, I just don't see any problem. You know, I we need to talk more about what what the next steps are. And then he called me the next day and he goes, I was reviewing your test last night, and there is something not right. And I and he said, I need you to come in this afternoon. So I came in and he showed me on the computer, and you can see it's uh you can see blood going through, and then at some point you can see it's squished, and there's a like a uh there was a word for it. I can't remember. It's uh but it is a clamping almost. Yeah, but there they have a word for it. Uh uh it oh, it turns into a slit instead of uh instead of an you know an artery, which is like a tube.

SPEAKER_01 9:50

All I all all these years, all I had to do was just I could have just pinched your chest a little bit. Driving me crazy.

SPEAKER_03 9:57

It might have saved me, yeah. You never know.

SPEAKER_01 9:59

Just here. So what I'm gonna ask you a real kind of personal and deep question, but what are you most nervous about? Are you nervous about the surgery? Are you nervous about waking up afterwards, the recovery, or just kind of giving up control? Because I know that exercise is so important to you, and you've mentioned that. Um, but I think that's to your benefit.

SPEAKER_03 10:19

Well, uh the cardiologist and the surgeon both said, look, this is a this is a big involved procedure, but for somebody um, you know, that with your makeup, meaning um, and the surgeon said, uh, most people I operate on have diabetes, they smoke, they drink, they're overweight, uh, you know, they have other issues that they're dealing with. He said, You have none of that. So you're the prime candidate for uh for recovery.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

You know what? This week, let's go smoke, drink, and get overweight right before you start.

SPEAKER_03 10:50

It ain't gonna hurt me. This is it.

SPEAKER_01 10:53

Let's go get drunk Friday night. I know Thursday night because the surgery's drive. Oh, yeah, Thursday night.

SPEAKER_03 10:59

Yeah. Um, so I kind of lost track of your question, but just like what you're more nervous about. I I think I'm most nervous about being at home um and being in so much pain that I can't think. Uh I'm not that most nervous about that. I am nervous about that. I hate painkillers, yeah. And I try and get off them as soon as possible, and I'm afraid I might, you know, wing myself off them too soon. Uh, but uh but I am a control freak. I like to make sure everything's in its place, you know, our our clients, our customers, our sponsors, everybody gets what they want, everybody gets what they need, and I hate that things fall through the cracks. I I I feel very responsible to all of these people, to you, to you know, Cedric and Carlo and Maury and our team and Judy up front. Um so I am nervous that something falls through the cracks, that uh it doesn't go well. But then on the other hand, I know you guys will all be here making sure everything goes okay.

SPEAKER_01 11:57

Yeah, I I think it's uh a mindset also. Um you are a very healthy mind, body, and spirit kind of person. And we kind of earlier before we went on air, you were talking about people, your close people, the people that you're close to have been saying, Man, I love you, Steve. I love you. They're kind of and it's it's human nature, right? And you were talking about how you're having a hard time reciprocating that's a good idea.

SPEAKER_03 12:21

I always have a hard time with that. I'm not uh I'm not touchy feely. I uh, you know, like if if some one of my close friends would go, hey man, I love you, man. I go, yeah, ditto. Yeah, right back at you, dude. I just have a hard time saying I love you. But um, you know, this whole time has it's only been honest today. It's a week since I found out I have to have this surgery. The one thing I've been really thinking a lot about the blessings in my life. And I I I you know this. Anybody that knows me, my relationship with my wife, Holly, is I feel so blessed to have found somebody in my life that I've connected with on every level to a degree I think a lot of people never experience in their life. It's made me really thankful that she's in my life. I and I am a little nervous about, you know, what happens if this doesn't go the way. Not not that I'm gonna do it or anything, but you know, what if it doesn't go the way it's supposed to? And I just want to make sure she's okay. She has been my rock throughout this.

SPEAKER_01 13:31

Well, I think we're all we're all grateful for Holly. Thank God Holly is thank you, Holly.

SPEAKER_03 13:38

Well, you know what? Here's the funny thing about this, Michelle. A lot of people don't know this. I do have my weird little idiosyncrasies, you know that. And I and I have my weird ways. She embraces those parts of you. Not only does she put up with it, she embraces those parts of me. Yeah, that's so rare to find. I know you have that with Todd, but it's, you know, you and I talk about this all the time. We have friends that talk about their spouses, oh, gosh, talk about their boyfriends, talk about their wives or husbands, and I'm like, I don't have that. I don't have anything bad to say about my wife. I love her to death, and she loves me to death, and I can tell.

SPEAKER_01 14:16

I think it's so disrespectful that people do that, but not only to the spouse or to their their significant other, but to themselves. Agreed. The fact that they're doing has this what you're going through right now, is this kind of like over the last week you've digested, you've kind of really probably lost sleep about it, but has it has it changed the way you think about life at all? I mean, you've told your kids, you've told your father, you're dealing with your wife, you got a lot of told your mom.

SPEAKER_03 14:44

Yeah, um you know, it has made me think a lot about life in the in that um we all spend the vast majority of our adult life on this hamster wheel of trying to get a little more, trying to make a little money more money, trying to buy another house, trying to get a sell another property. And those things are all important, but they're nowhere near as important as the relationships you have with the people around you. All that other stuff really is just so that you can take care of the people around you and have those good relationships. I I'm not I'm actually not getting my head real wrapped around that, but it has made me reflect a lot more on the blessings that I have in my life and the good friendships that I have. It's uh and I I hate that it takes something like this for you to start thinking about that. But it's important, I think, for people to realize even in our crappiest times, you know, we have these relationships, people in our lives that uh they got our backs and they're there.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

Well, it's it's definitely human nature to think, you know, the why me aspect of it, like, you know, I'm a good person and I do this and I do that, you know, why me, why me?

SPEAKER_03 16:01

But if you think if this had happened to you, you know, because it is a genetic condition, if this had happened to you maybe 20, 30 years ago, you you were had you had young children, you were, you know, may not have been diagnosed, but my surgeon said that most of the time this this is caught in when they're people are very young or they're pimped, it's something that's discovered. So probably my healthy lifestyle of taking care of myself has allowed me to get by for 63 years without having to have surgery.

SPEAKER_01 16:31

Well, I finally have concrete proof that something is genetically wrong with you, and you can't blame it on Russian.

SPEAKER_03 16:37

Everybody that knows me well enough to know that's the way I but you know, I'm also uh to the point where like I did used to worry about this. This is me. This is this is who I am, and my friends that that are there, regardless of I was walking with my buddy Brandon the other day, and when I when we walk because I can't learn anything, and when we were walking, I do this thing where we walk to the end of the road and there's a little barrier there, and I have to touch the barrier. If I don't touch the damn barrier, it's like it's not complete. And he was we were laughing about it, but it's like he's still my friend, he doesn't care that I got that weird little idiot.

SPEAKER_01 17:12

No, no, but I'm I'm just also thinking that maybe Brandon and I during the week we could take you to the mall and you could power walk with all of the older ladies and the little sketchers yeah, the little sketchers that rock.

SPEAKER_03 17:24

You know what's funny? We were at Costco on Saturday and they had sketchers in there. I was like, hey, those are pretty cool. I was like, hey, you can just slip your foot right in there with the tiny laces or I went, oh crap, it's all down up for more.

SPEAKER_01 17:38

Well, you know, I've known you long enough and we've done the show long enough together that I feel like I should get to talk to your surgeon beforehand. Not about your heart. I just have a little list of things that I would like for him to repair while he's in there.

SPEAKER_03 17:51

I'm just telling you you take that black part out of the heart, please. Just kidding. I actually want Holly, uh, and I know she's gonna listen, to tell that surgeon to take good care of me. And I feel like you, you know, you mentioned when Todd had his heart attack, you looked at that surgeon and said something along the lines of you treat this man as if he's worthy of recovering, do everything you can.

SPEAKER_01 18:17

Yeah, I remember looking at him and Dr. Tucker, and I said, This, I just want you to know this isn't just a patient. He's a husband, he's a father, he's deeply loved by people. I said, please try to save him. And he told me that moment right there, he'd never had somebody say that to him.

SPEAKER_03 18:35

You know what? Um, I think it's important because I probably a doctor probably has a coping mechanism where they think of that as just a body that they have to get working right. And if you start thinking of that, this is a person that is loved by many people and as a provider and a husband and and a dad.

SPEAKER_01 18:53

I mean, you're okay. You're a nice guy and all. Yeah, I know. So I I want to step back just a little bit. So the mechanics of the surgery, they're actually going to they're going to crack your chest open. And when they close you up, you said they're gonna wire you.

SPEAKER_03 19:07

So I get a stainless steel wire that will be wound through my chest. And I guess the scar is about eight or ten inches long. I I'm not sure exactly how how long it'll be, but um, yeah, and and so then I say, Well, when do you take the wire out? He goes, No, you'll have the wire for the rest of your life.

SPEAKER_01 19:25

So it's not like does it zoop?

SPEAKER_03 19:27

No, yeah. I figured, you know, maybe they would go and fuse back together. And then I go, of course, me, I go, Well, how do I travel with a wire in my chest? And he goes, Nobody's ever asked me that. It's like, you're kidding. This is my first thought, is how can I go through a metal detector or you know, well, I've got that plate in my neck, but you know what?

SPEAKER_01 19:45

The thought just occurred to me. Now you can say you're like a spy because you're like, I have a wire on me. I have a wire. I have a wire. So where do you see yourself? Okay, so January, beginning of the year, right? January is 2027. That's five months away.

SPEAKER_03 20:00

Yes. What I have a backpacking trip in Big Bend scheduled for the third week of December, and I'm going. Hella high water.

SPEAKER_01 20:09

So September, October, November, December. That's four and a half months away.

SPEAKER_03 20:14

I'm going. That is my carrot. I uh I'm taking this on as a challenge that I'll do whatever the doctor tells me, I'll go to cardiac rehab, I'll go to physical therapy, whatever he needs me to do, I am going on that backpacking trip. I'm carrying my backpack and I'm going. It'll be it won't be more than about 20 miles, uh, but I'm going.

SPEAKER_01 20:35

Do you think that um just having the surgery on your chest and carrying something heavy on your back, do you think you're gonna have to modify maybe your backpack a little bit? Maybe get a mule.

SPEAKER_03 20:46

You know what's what's funny, that reminds me that uh my cardiac surgeon. So in the time between when I was diagnosed and I met with a cardiothoracic surgeon, we did that big bend trip. Uh the uh not sorry, not big band, the uh hiking trip outside of that I was like, please do.

SPEAKER_01 21:05

I know, but I understood here's the thing.

SPEAKER_03 21:07

So my surgeon, my uh cardiologist says, You can't do anything hard. You you he said, you have to take it easy, don't do anything hard. And so I went to the head. I in my head I went, okay, it's not hard. And so we hiked, we backpacked 60 miles. I had a 40-pound pack on, and I just thought, well, this isn't hard. Because for you know, for some of the stuff I've done, comparable, it's not. But I'm pretty sure if I had called him up and said, Hey, I'm thinking about doing a 60-mile backpacking trip in Oregon, you know, and it's it's an hour and a half away. Well, we'll be five hours away at some points on the trail from the nearest hospital. He would have said, Are you out of your freaking mind? But the point of that for me is I'll I'll do what I can do and to get to that backpacking trip. I will I will just jump through every hoop they want me to do so that I can do that.

SPEAKER_01 21:58

I'm trying to remember. So talk. Had his heart attack in March, and we went to Disney World in June, and we had him writing like roller coasters in June, March, April, May, June. So there you go. There you go. So you did roller coasters and you will you will backpack. Well, so I I know also one of the other discussions that you and I've had is the response of other people. And if you could, as from this side of it, because you know, we've all been guilty of it. Like, you know, when somebody passes and you're like, oh, well, they're in a better place. You know, the people just inherently say stupid shit because they don't know what to say. Right. Right. But at least they're saying something. So what would you want people to know? Or you know, you're on this side of it right now. By the time this comes out, you're gonna have surgery. So it's coming out tomorrow.

SPEAKER_03 22:43

I want, yeah. So this episode comes out three days from my surgery.

SPEAKER_01 22:47

So if you see him between Wednesday and Thursday, what would you what do you want people to say?

SPEAKER_03 22:51

I want people, I don't want people to say things to me like, man, I'm sorry you're doing dealing with that, dude. That's a really tough blow. I want you to say, hey, you know what? Let us know when you get through that. Let us know how you feel in a couple weeks, because I know you're gonna be feeling better. I want everybody listening right now, everybody that cares about me, to assume I'm going, I'm actually assuming I'm gonna come out of this actually better than new. Meaning this surgery may fix something. I may have been dealing this with this for years, and it's just now become uh uh an issue. And the reason uh layman's terms, but my arteries and your your blood vessels get stiffer as you age, and I've reached a point where my blood vessels don't, they're not supple enough to allow that blood flow. So I shoot, I don't know. I may come out of this and run a marathon in in February and run my fastest marathon ever. That's what I'm assuming. So no woe is me. No, I'm sorry, dude. No, I'm so you know, I don't want any of that. I want you all to just sit, you know, we you got it. Let's go. Just get through it and let us know how you're feeling.

SPEAKER_01 23:54

Does that mean you could you're gonna be even more inseparable when it comes to I can you not tell?

SPEAKER_03 23:59

I'm telling you.

SPEAKER_01 24:00

I'm inseparable right now. I'm warning you right now.

SPEAKER_03 24:04

I you know it's a challenge for me. I'm looking at it as a challenge, like everything else Holly and I have done together. Um, it's just something to get through. It's just something to, you know, we that we did Mount Hood in one day. It's 40, it's 43 miles if you don't get lost. We did 46 and a half miles. We did it together. It was hard, one of the hardest things I've ever done. It was, you know, 11,000 feet of climbing uh and really technical trails. And it was, you know, there were times I was like, this sucks. And then, but we got through it and it was just elation. That's what this is.

SPEAKER_01 24:36

Well, maybe that's that that's the mindset that I kind of hear you convincing yourself, and I I kind of hear hear it in your voice that this is a challenge to get through. This is the this is a peak, this is a top of a mountain, and I'm gonna climb it. It's gonna be hard getting up there, and then when I come down, you know what?

SPEAKER_03 24:52

And uh uh people that do these things know, like doing rim to rim to rim in the Grand Canyon, which we did last year, that when those get when they get hard, I will bitch and moan, but I know in my head that the reason that is special is because I have reached that point where I am just shattered. That is where you really start to figure out who you are. This is gonna shatter me. And I'm gonna be, as I'm going through that, I'm gonna be thinking, this is the stuff where you figure out what you're made of.

SPEAKER_02 25:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 25:24

And so I'm not, I'm trying to try really hard not to lay in bed and go, I'm gonna work, yeah. I'm just gonna say, hey, you you know, one step at a time, one day at a time, you get through this, it's a challenge, and you got a goal line to get to. Here we go.

SPEAKER_01 25:39

You gotta allow your body to rest, though, too. You gotta allow your body to break.

SPEAKER_03 25:44

I'm gonna, I have you know, if the doctor says don't do anything for a week, guess what? I'm not doing anything for a week. The only thing I'm gonna do is push that little TV remote, and that's it. So I'm gonna listen to the doc because I want a hundred and ten percent recovery. I don't want 100% recovery. I want to I want to come back better than ever. I have said that I can't wait to start running it.

SPEAKER_01 26:05

I've said that even this time next week, you're gonna be on the other side of it. Yeah, right? You're gonna be it's it's gonna be it's gonna be amazing. I I agree.

SPEAKER_03 26:16

I think you're gonna be one of those cases where people are gonna go, oh yeah, you you had an open heart surgery four weeks ago?

SPEAKER_01 26:22

Yeah, this is part of your testimony too. And I think um has it made you pray more?

SPEAKER_03 26:32

Uh somewhat. Um I'm a pretty basic prayer. Uh so yeah, I have prayed more often, but I'm not a I'm not a big forcing prayer kind of guy. I'm more of a, you know, a checking thank you for this. These are great blessings in my life, and just give me some strength to get through this.

SPEAKER_04 26:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:57

I'm not so I have done that more often. There's been a couple times. Um this morning was really hard. Uh Monday morning. I was in the gym and uh listening to an audio book and working out, and I was I did a really hard set um cool down thing. And I thought, why don't F am I doing this? This is all gonna go away in a couple weeks, and it really kind of hit me kind of hard, and I thought shut up, you know. So there were some highs and lows already. Um, but you know, I think about the blessings that I have in my life, the things that are good. When I focus on Holly's at the top of that list, and I can't I can't tell you how great a woman she is. And for me to have found her, like I wish everybody on the planet that they have a relationship like that. But you know, I live in a wonderful town, I live in Texas, I have great friends, I have wonderful kids, I have the people I work with, you, you know, that are that are uh just bully you daily. Yes, I know, I know. But you know, I I the list of things, you know, we live in a great, great house and a great neighborhood, and I have, you know, people that I ride with and run with, and um you know, I I I'm very blessed, and I have to keep my eyes on that, that uh those are not things that everybody has, and I've been lucky enough in life that God said, Yeah, you can have those things. Because not everybody gets them.

SPEAKER_01 28:28

Uh no, and turning the burdens into blessings. So right now, this is a burden, but at some point you're gonna realize what a blessing it is. I mean, you truly are, because you know, right now it's totally normal, Steve, the the feelings that you're feeling, the apprehension that you're feeling. So, one of the things that I wanted to say, I kind of mentioned at the very beginning, is we've never missed an episode. We've we have every Tuesday, there was one.

SPEAKER_03 28:51

It was our commitment when we started where we said, okay, one of the things we're gonna do is we are gonna be so consistent. So every Tuesday at 5 a.m. since January 4th of 2022, we have released it.

SPEAKER_01 29:04

We have released it. And there was only one episode that I missed when my son Tate had an emergency surgery and I and I flipped there.

SPEAKER_03 29:12

Yep, and she did a great job. But yeah, we we've made it a priority, you know. It's it's uh out of respect for our listeners that we and our advertisers. Our advertisers, we promised them we would do a certain number of episodes, and so yeah, we've been very committed to that. There is a chance, and more than likely, we're gonna miss one. Uh and uh, I think probably the first part of September.

SPEAKER_01 29:36

We're hoping to have um so we finagled some of our guests around, kind of moved them around, and uh we are hoping to have an updated podcast. We're gonna release our um Ashley Vishon. Uh she was supposed to be released today, but she's but we moved her to next week. And then we're hoping to have the following week an update to your journey and where you are. And so if Steve sounds a little different or if he you know sounds a little slower, because you know he for those of you that don't um have never been in our studio or don't watch us on on YouTube, I monitor the cameras, like I do a horrible job of it, but I monitor the cameras and then Steve does the audio. So the audio is to on his left, to his left. And so part of it, what do you here? Let's see. I'll I'll put the video or the camera on there. So if you're looking on YouTube, or if you want to look on YouTube, so roadcaster pro two. Part of the the job is he's gonna be twisting and turning and and kind of manipulating that a little bit. And so we want to be respectful of you know part of his recovery.

SPEAKER_03 30:41

But also, I think you also don't want to come in here jacked up on painkillers and only like you jacked up on painkillers.

SPEAKER_01 30:48

I'm gonna slip a little diluted in your tea and I'm gonna roof me.

SPEAKER_02 30:53

It might be one of the best episodes.

SPEAKER_01 30:55

You never know, but I would love, you know, if you fill up to it, I'd love for you to be able to pop in here. And and look, what we're gonna do is that Steve, okay, here's a public announcement right now. Mr. Mallet is not supposed to be driving for a full month. If you see him in his vehicle, you please call me or email the show.

SPEAKER_03 31:14

And then on top of that, um, I said to you, well, you know, I only live a couple minutes away. I'll just walk. You were like, Mallet, you're not walking. I wonder.

SPEAKER_01 31:24

You're not walking. No, I I will go pick him up and we'll go eat at Pig Pen and I will let you walk home.

SPEAKER_03 31:30

I miss that a lot. Um, hopefully somebody will bring me Pig Pen. But I I want to wrap up with this. Um, this is something that has hit me pretty hard in the last week. Uh, in addition to being on that hamster wheel hamster wheel, we also in life have these plans where we think, you know, this is I'm gonna get this job, and I'll get that promotion, and then you know, we'll land this account and we'll sell that house and what blah blah blah blah. And you need to be aware in life, it isn't like that. I don't I don't care what plans you make, God's gonna throw you a curveball.

SPEAKER_01 32:10

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 32:10

And we've had so many guests sit in that chair. Um and their stories Wesley O'Connor, yeah, and Ashley, their stories are Micah Scott. Micah Scott. Their stories are they had these plans for their life, and it went a completely different direction. And their story really is how did they handle that complete change in direction in their life? What did they do to cope with that? And that's been big for me because you know, I've got, you know, I'm like running this business, and uh one day I'll retire and I'll have this much and I'll in these many houses, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And guess what? That's not like that.

SPEAKER_01 32:46

The universe had different plans for you.

SPEAKER_03 32:48

That's right. And remember that when you get that curveball, how you react to it is the most important thing. How you respond to that change in your life that you didn't have any control of is the most important thing.

SPEAKER_01 33:01

I agree, I agree. And Steve, you know, we joke about kind of everything because that's what we do. But I really want to say this in all seriousness. You're my friend, you're my partner in this ridiculous little thing that we've built right here. And we've got a whole lot of people who love you and are gonna be thinking about you on Friday. But I know people hear open heart surgery and just immediately get scared. And I do too. Like I did too. But you're gonna, you're going into this knowing what the problem is with a team that knows how to fix it, with an army of people that are praying for you. So we're gonna let them do their job and you're going to do yours. You have always told me in our business, you we're gonna let the experts be experts, and you're gonna do what you need to do for once in your life. You're gonna sit still, you're gonna shut the hell up, and you're gonna recover.

SPEAKER_03 33:51

And that's the hardest thing for me to do. But I am committed. I most of the time I don't like to listen to negative things that doctors tell me, but I have committed. I'm gonna do what they tell me to do. He he even said, he goes, Look, I want you to go to cardiac, uh, monocardiac therapy.

SPEAKER_01 34:07

The cardiac therapy, uh.

SPEAKER_03 34:08

And he goes, You'll think it's a joke, because you know, they'll put you on a treadmill and and he and he said, But I want you to go. He said, They'll be able to give you some feedback and tell you some things to do. He goes, You'll be surrounded by people in walkers and wheelchairs, and and they're all in, but it trust me, it's important. So I'm gonna go.

SPEAKER_01 34:27

Because you're a competitive guy and you're gonna go, listen, grandma. Yeah, so what I want you to do is I want you to get your ass back here because I'm not doing this dang podcast by myself, right? You won't have anybody to make fun of. I know, it'd be so boring. I could stare at your I could zoom you, but so before Friday.

SPEAKER_03 34:42

Steve was here, I would say he has a black heart.

SPEAKER_01 34:45

Absolutely, and yes, absolutely. So before Friday, the uh your closing statement, what do you want to say to everybody that's just listening?

SPEAKER_03 34:54

I uh Well, geez, everybody that's listening. I want you to know I'm uh I'm coming back stronger than ever. I don't want you to think this is like the turning point in my life where uh things go downhill, you know. I don't want my uh the things that are said about me when all is said and done to say, yeah, you know, we had uh major heart surgery and then it was all downhill from there. That's not what this is. This is just another challenge in my life, and I'm getting through it come hella high water, and you know what, we'll see what happens on the on the other end, but I'm committed, I'm coming back better than ever. I there is a good chance that some of the other health issues I've dealt with will be relieved by this, I think. And I'm I'm I said to Judy this morning, I'm kind of ready. Let's go, let's get this thing done. I don't even want to wait till Friday. Yeah, I want to get going on it. I think it's gonna be a good thing along.

SPEAKER_01 35:49

Well, congratulations, 10 man. You're finally getting a heart. We love you, Steve, and we know you're gonna be back here. Love you too, man. So uh um, thank you guys so much for listening. And uh if uh again, if we miss an episode, you know, so be it.

SPEAKER_03 36:08

Overall scheme of things, not that big a deal.

SPEAKER_01 36:10

But and we wanted to make this kind of short and sweet, but you know, we didn't we don't have any fancy things planned or said, but we wanted to say once again thank you to our sponsors, d Betty Vodka Tasting Room, South Star Bank, Black Slate Con Construction and Black Slate Roofing, and of course, Mallet Integrity Team.

SPEAKER_03 36:26

Yeah, so we couldn't do it without all of those sponsors. Um, but yeah, thanks to everybody. I know I'm gonna get a bunch of warm wishes and uh and people saying real nice things, and I thank you for all that in advance. Uh I probably won't be able to respond to all of them, but know that it means a lot to me. And uh I'll be back stronger than ever before you know it.

SPEAKER_01 36:45

Absolutely. And for those of you that know and you wanna you want to hear an update on Steve, um feel free to text me or you can email the show and um I will yeah, I'm gonna sneak in there and I'm gonna I'll take pictures of Steve. And I've also offered to, I'm gonna told him I'm bringing a scrub daddy and a bottle of Don Dish soap, and I'm going to be I have a sign-up sheet for SpongeBats. So just let me know, people.

SPEAKER_03 37:08

Yeah, there's a five-minute uh time limit on visitors to the hospital. So no sponge baths.

SPEAKER_01 37:14

Bring dark chocolate.

SPEAKER_03 37:16

Yeah, but thanks to everybody uh that listens and uh has made us a part of their life. It it's been it's been very humbling and a lot of fun, and uh I wouldn't miss it for the world. So thanks everybody for listening. Talk to you soon.