Help Richard Rickey Recover after Lifesaving Heart and Vascular Surgery

Richard Ricky suffered a sudden catastrophic, life-threatening health incident on February 1st, 2026. He required and survived numerous surgeries. We’ll provide details below but wanted to provide a brief summary first. In February of this year, Richard’s aorta (the largest blood vessel in the body) started to split open (an aortic dissection). He required a 7.5-hour-long surgery to replace his upper aorta and repair damage to the rest of his aorta along with injuries to his heart and kidney blood vessels. He was then sent to Seattle for additional surgeries.

At the moment, he is in inpatient rehabilitation about an hour from home. He requires dialysis as his kidneys continue to heal. He also had complications and almost lost his left leg below the knee. This damage is healing, but he requires extensive physical therapy (PT) to regain his strength and mobility.

Richard has survived. He is recovering both physically and mentally. However, he cannot do it alone. He is unable to work at the moment, has mounting healthcare costs, and still needs to cover daily expenses such as rent and the cost of moving to handicap-friendly housing. Your financial help would be appreciated to ease his burden as he focuses on healing. No donation is too small. Any donation, prayer, or share on this page would be greatly appreciated.

Who is Richard?

Richard is only 26 years old, but anyone who knows him knows that he lives life with courage, determination, and heart. Originally from Lubbock, Texas, Richard moved to Richland, Washington two years ago to further his career as a welder. Welding isn’t just a job for Richard; he truly takes pride in his work and pursues the craft with both precision and as a form of function and as art.

Outside of work, Richard is incredibly talented musically. He plays the drums, guitar, and piano. Music has always been one way that he connects with people. He also enjoys spending time outdoors. He also enjoys drawing and art, and he discovered tattooing and has completed pieces on himself and close friends.

Most importantly, Richard has been building a life in Washington with his significant other, Sarah Grassel. Together they share two beloved “fur babies,” Knorra and Olive. Richard and Sarah have spent the past six years together and love to spend their free time hiking, playing golf, and paddling on the Columbia River. They were just beginning to build their future together.

However, on Sunday, February 1, 2026, everything changed.

What happened?

Richland, Washington

On the morning of February 1st, Richard told Sarah that he suddenly did not feel well and then collapsed. Sarah called 911, and Richard was rushed to the hospital. Doctors quickly discovered that he was experiencing a tear inside the walls of the main artery (aortic dissection) in the body. The tear was from the top of the aorta above the heart and extended all the way down to his pelvis, where the aorta splits to provide blood and oxygen to both legs.

This was a life-threatening emergency that required immediate surgery. Surgeons cut open his chest and abdomen to access the heart and the aorta. His ascending aorta (the curve of his aorta) was replaced with tubing called a Hemashield graft. While in surgery, surgeons discovered that he also needed an artery to the heart repaired (coronary bypass procedure). He also had extensive internal bleeding (retroperitoneal hematoma) and was given a transfusion during surgery.

This surgery took a total of 7.5 hours. Richard was put on a ventilator for this extensive surgery and continued to be on the ventilator as he was too unstable to breathe on his own.

On 2/2, after surgery, he was taken back to his room to be stabilized, but unfortunately soon afterwards Richard’s heart stopped beating and he needed CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation). The incredible surgeons and hospital staff worked urgently and were able to bring him back and save his life.

After this, Sarah was able to see him quickly before he went back to the OR to repair a small tear that was causing slight internal bleeding.

The next day, doctors determined that this aortic dissection caused blood flow to his kidneys to be cut off. The surgery to restore blood flow to his kidneys and left leg was very complex, and due to this Richard was life-flighted on a plane to University of Washington Medical Center (UWMC) in Seattle to complete this surgery.

Seattle

After arriving in Seattle, he underwent surgery where doctors placed mesh and metal-lined tubes (stents) in his aorta, extending from his upper chest down to his pelvis. They also inserted stents into the arteries supplying both kidneys and into the arteries leading to each leg to restore proper blood flow. The surgery was successful.

However, because his kidneys had not been receiving adequate blood flow beforehand, they stopped functioning. This led to severe fluid buildup and swelling throughout his body, most noticeably in his lower left leg.

He was at risk of losing his lower leg as the swelling compressed his calf muscles (compartment syndrome). Surgeons cut a slit along the length of the side of Richard’s calf (fasciotomy) to give the swollen muscles room to expand, relieve pressure, and save the calf muscles.

Richard was put on dialysis due to his kidneys failing and needing extensive time to heal. He was unconscious and intubated for another two days after the surgery. On 2/6, he woke up and the ventilator was taken out.

Sarah drove to Seattle. Family and friends flew to Seattle to be with Richard while he was in the intensive care unit (ICU). Friends rallied to help Sarah on the home front while Richard was in the hospital, and many coworkers covered his shifts as a welder.

Richard spent over two weeks in the ICU, then graduated to acute care for another two weeks while in Seattle. He fought through an incredibly difficult recovery, which included pneumonia, excruciating nerve pain, and a feeding tube along with dialysis.

Back to Richland and then Walla Walla, Washington

Despite the odds, Richard continued to heal. Though his recovery journey is far from over; he has made incredible progress. Weakened because of the vascular and leg surgery, he needs extensive PT.

He was transferred back to Richland to continue to recover. Then he was transferred to Walla Walla for rehabilitation. He will need extensive physical and occupational therapy.

His goals right now are the basic things that many of us take for granted, such as learning to walk again, to dress himself, to shower, and to brush his teeth. Longer-term goals include regaining his strength to drive and to return to work.

He also expects his kidneys to heal enough that he will not need dialysis, but the timing of this is not certain at the moment.

Sarah has been at Richard’s side through all of this. Family and friends continue to rally behind them both. He is now walking with the aid of a walker, no longer needs a feeding tube, and hopes to be off dialysis eventually. He wants to return to work and to his active lifestyle with those he loves.

Our ask

While Richard continues to focus on his healing, his financial burden is growing. He and Sarah will need help covering rent, utilities, food, transportation, and medical travel.

Though he has medical insurance, this will not cover everything by any means. Tests to discover why this all happened in the first place and follow-up care could have unexpected additional medical costs.

If you know Richard, you know he is strong, hardworking, and loyal. He has already survived more than any of us can imagine. Now he needs the support of family, friends, coworkers, and the community to help him rebuild his life.

Any donation, prayer, or share of this page will mean the world to both Richard and Sarah as they navigate the long road ahead of them.

Thank you for your support, encouragement, and love. Thank you for supporting their recovery.