Is it possible to repair bent push rods?

A friend of mine straightened a badly bent push rod from his 440 by hammering it on his cement driveway. :disgust: He wasn't listening to me and cranked the engine with the starter while we were adjusting the valves. I can't believe it has run for this long with that crap push rod and I can't believe he hasn't bought a new one yet. My biggest concern for your engine is why they bent. Without understanding why the next problem could be way more expensive.