Geoff ‘Hooky’ Fry received a prosthetic arm 44 years ago. He was the first child in Australia to do so.
And back in the 70s and 80s, being different was even tougher than it is today.
“Kids would be mean and call me Captain Hook so then my mate Mark said ‘I’m going to call you Hooky,’” he told Kidspot.
“Even my parents and my partner call me that. My parents used to get called Mr and Mrs Hook by my mates because everybody thought my name was Geoff Hook.”
“Now my wife has a ‘Mrs Hook’ tattoo on her wedding finger because she gets called that too.”
Now a truck driver, Melbourne man Geoff never let anything hold him back.
But he worries about other kids born without limbs, and wants to do his bit to show them that they can live a full life, no matter how many limbs they have.
That’s why he regularly meets up with kids who have prosthetic arms.
With five-year-old Cody Scott due to get another arm fitted in the next few weeks, Geoff was eager to meet him and let him see someone successful.
And according to Cody’s mum Pam, the little boy was in awe of him. “He said to me when we left ‘his arm is cool – I want to get one of those arms’,” Pam said.
“It was lovely that he took the time out. Cody saw him as a mentor.”
And Geoff is only too happy to be seen that way.
“It brings joy in my heart. It always feels good because I get to see smile on their faces,” he said.
And when Cody told him that he couldn’t kick a football, Geoff was quick to shoot down any ‘can’t’ talk.
“I told Cody ‘God gave you one arm and the doctor gave you the other. I think you’re bull-dusting me because I can kick a football.”
“I make sure they know they can do anything they put their mind to just like everyone else.”
Aww, beneath his tattoos, Geoff is just a serious sweetheart.
