Add another item to the resume of why New Orleans Saints quarterback is one of the good guys in all sports.
The all-time touchdown leader made a phone call to Texas high schooler Calder Hodge, who plays football despite having both legs amputated above the knee when he was young.
“Welcome to the QB brotherhood, man,” Brees said to the teen, who was born with no tibia bones but still dreams of being the first double amputee quarterback in the NFL. “I can’t wait to watch you play. I’m gonna be keeping track of you, and I better be sent some videos of your training.”
Hodge spoke to ESPN about the call from Brees and said it was “pretty crazy” to hear from such one of the greats.
“It’s awesome, because not only are these great experiences for me, it’s me getting to pick NFL players’ brains. What they see on coverages, see how they process the game as a NFL player so I can take that and put that into my game,” Hodge said. “I’ve also gotten a lot of great relationships, so it’s just awesome to have those relationships with guys in the NFL.”
Hodge was on a video conference set up by the Challenged Athletes Foundation with former California high school quarterback Alex Ruiz, who returned to the field after a torn artery led to him having a leg amputated in 2018.
Brees also became a mentor to Ruiz, who wore No. 9 because he was such a big fan. Brees presented Ruiz with his first walking prosthetic leg shortly after his surgery.
The calls were part of CAF’s first virtual 2020 Heroes of Sport Celebration. Highlighting how challenged athlete grant recipients are powering through these challenging times, the live premiere featured surprise moments from the likes of Brees, Andre Agassi, Bill Walton, Jimmie Johnson, Elena Delle Donne, and the Golden State Warriors, as well as CAF Ambassadors, who all presented grants and words of positivity to CAF’s challenged athletes.
Agassi, joined the line-up with some memorable words for 12 year old, Max Wong, of Flushing, New York who received a grant for a new tennis wheelchair. Max is a rising wheelchair tennis player with goals of playing at an elite level. He became paralyzed from the waist down at two years old after a laminectomy was performed to remove a spinal cord tumor.
Coach Steve Kerr and the Golden State Warriors presented first-time applicant, Devan Watkins of Menlo Park, CA with a customized basketball wheelchair. Watkins, age 12, was diagnosed with a spinal cord tumor in 2017 resulted in paraplegia and some upper extremity impairment. Since discovering wheelchair basketball in the Bay Area he has shown improvement in his physical and mental health.
Team USA Paralympic wheelchair basketball athlete Megan Blunk hopped on the line with Baltimore, Maryland sisters, Olive (7) and Willow (11) Weidenhammer, who were both born with spina bifida and use wheelchairs for mobility and their favorite sport basketball. The Paralympian surprised them on the call with several of her Team USA teammates who recently had to put their Paralympic dreams on hold for another year. As an added bonus, a special appearance from WNBA star Delle Donne of the Washington Mystics congratulated both of them on their new adaptive sports equipment.