Our dad, Christopher Pickard, is an incredible father, husband, son, and friend to everyone who knows him. Throughout his life, he has been a source of strength and stability for our family, a constant support to his friends, and someone our community can always count on. He has been a beloved soccer coach, the respected owner and builder of his construction business, and a talented mandolin player. More than anything, however, he has dedicated his life to providing for and caring for our family.

Our dad is the kind of person who does everything for the people he loves without ever asking for recognition. He is quiet, gentle, and humble, but also the strongest and hardest-working person we have ever known. He built the life we have from the ground up with his own two hands and has spent every day since making sure our family was cared for. Whether it was chopping wood, plowing the road, tilling the garden, hauling water, fixing what was broken, or working long days to provide for us, he was always the one making sure everything was done. He has always been the person we could depend on, the one who carried so much without complaint, and the one who made our home feel safe and steady.

He has spent much of his life looking after us. Now it is our turn to look after him.

On March 10, our dad was admitted to the hospital after experiencing severe difficulty breathing, along with intense joint pain and swelling. What we initially hoped would be a short hospital stay quickly became something much more serious. He spent a week at Marquette General Hospital undergoing extensive testing for bacterial, viral, and fungal infections, as well as MRIs and X-rays. During that time, his condition worsened, and he spent two days in the ICU. On Tuesday, he was airlifted to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, where he is currently in the ICU on a ventilator as doctors work to stabilize him and find answers.

He has now been diagnosed with granulomatous vasculitis, a rare and serious autoimmune disease that causes inflammation in the blood vessels and can affect vital organs. He remains in critical condition, and we are praying every day that he pulls through and can begin the long road to recovery. Seeing our dad, who has always been so strong, in this condition has been heartbreaking, and we are doing everything we can to be by his side and support him through this.

For us to be there for him in the way he needs right now, we cannot do it on our own. That is why we are writing this to ask for help. We are asking for support in covering the overwhelming expenses that have come with this medical emergency, including ICU care, extensive testing, the emergency airlift, and what will likely be a long hospital stay and recovery process. We are also trying to cover travel expenses so our family, including his parents and sisters, can be in Detroit to support him and be by his side during this critical time.

We know that our dad is deeply loved by his family, friends, and community, and now we are reaching out to that same community during one of the hardest moments of our lives. He has always been the person others could count on, and we are asking for help now as we try to show up for him the way he has always shown up for all of us.

Any donation, no matter how small, would mean so much to our family. If you are unable to give, please consider sharing this page and keeping Christopher in your thoughts and prayers.

Thank you, from the children of Christopher Pickard.