Please help our Dad get his life back
Donation protected
This GoFundMe page is being created for our dad, Rick, ‘’Raider Rick’’and some may know him as “Rickey Bobby”.
Just as we, and many of you who know him, know he would never ask for help, and during this difficult time, we hope to add some relief.
This arduous journey began when he was having constant neck pain and weakness in his arms and legs, activities of everyday life became difficult and he made the decision to schedule surgery for his spine. C5-C6 had major disc bulging, and was severely compressing his spinal cord The C4-C5, C6-C7, and C7-T-1 discs were bulging as well.
On December 15, he went into his planned operation, it went well, and he was admitted for observation. After several days of post-op recovery, he began working hard with physical/occupational therapy, but started to experience shortness of breath. His oxygen saturation was not maintaining a safe level, and breathing became very labored for him.
This turn of events was very frightening, emotional and feeling helpless for him and us as a family were unbearable.
On December 27th, the pulmonologist came into his room, expressed concern about his condition, because his body was working extremely hard to produce and contain oxygen, so then he was transferred to ICU.
The doctor performed an operation to try to clear his main airway in hopes to alleviate his struggle to breathe. Unfortunately, that didn't help.
Dad was really struggling, it was so heartbreaking to see him so uncomfortable and scared.
The next day, December 28th, the doctors explained that the bipap mask he was wearing would not give him the necessary support to survive. The doctors expressed the urgency along with a strong recommendation that they needed to take preventative measures.
They were worried that he could have stopped breathing, and his heart could have stopped beating. Dad was very scared, but trusted the doctors and consented to place him on the ventilator. They stated that this will give his lungs and the body rest, to heal and strengthen his muscles and nerves. During that time, the intensive care team worked together to determine the cause of it all. As a few long days passed, Doctors came to report that although it’s rare, they confirmed that half of his diaphragm is paralyzed, and it’s making his ability to breathe even harder and his muscles aren’t strong enough yet. While the doctors were watching him, they started to talk about doing a tracheotomy, to prevent the vocal cord from being damaged by the ventilator.
On January 10th, he agreed to get the tracheotomy, and the vent was connected through his Trach supporting his breathing.
After 3 weeks in the ICU, he was finally medically stable and able to be downgraded from intensive care. The doctors recommended that he be transferred to a respiratory facility and weaned off over time.
On January 18th, a bed became available and he was transferred to an acute care facility.
He is working very hard to heal, to breathe and to become stronger each day. This has been a very difficult process. The amount of pain, fear, and discomfort he has endured in the last month and a half has been extremely challenging to say the least.
Undoubtedly, he has been an absolute trooper. The determination he has is truly amazing.
We know he is extremely hardworking and driven. The example he set as we grew up, he always stood by us while reaching his goals. One of them is his beautiful home they bought in Georgetown.
He deserves to be relaxing there, with his smoker, smoking some ribs, surrounded by family, friends enjoying the life he worked his ass off for.
Dad is getting stronger, every day, but his road to recovery involves a lot of consistent physical therapy, and his diaphragm needs to strengthen.
He continues to make progress, and we have hope that he will no longer be dependent on the vent.
As he gets daily exercises to wean himself, all his muscles are recovering. Once he is off the ventilator, he will need to continue intensive physical therapy.
He will have to regain the strength to stand, walk and perform daily activities so that he can return home. This will be a long road, but if anybody can do it, it’s him.
We can celebrate the small but very significant milestones, we also face the harsh reality of financial obligations after insurance. The next 1 to 2 years of recovery will be unpredictable, and our family is unprepared for what the future may bring.
We are asking with enormous gratitude for any help to make sure dad and Cathy have everything he requires and can focus on his health and not worry about how he is going to pay his medical bills.
This is a challenging time for many families, as we all know too well and if you are still reading this thank you, god bless you and your family. Much love and hope,
The Branson sisters ❤️
Just as we, and many of you who know him, know he would never ask for help, and during this difficult time, we hope to add some relief.
This arduous journey began when he was having constant neck pain and weakness in his arms and legs, activities of everyday life became difficult and he made the decision to schedule surgery for his spine. C5-C6 had major disc bulging, and was severely compressing his spinal cord The C4-C5, C6-C7, and C7-T-1 discs were bulging as well.
On December 15, he went into his planned operation, it went well, and he was admitted for observation. After several days of post-op recovery, he began working hard with physical/occupational therapy, but started to experience shortness of breath. His oxygen saturation was not maintaining a safe level, and breathing became very labored for him.
This turn of events was very frightening, emotional and feeling helpless for him and us as a family were unbearable.
On December 27th, the pulmonologist came into his room, expressed concern about his condition, because his body was working extremely hard to produce and contain oxygen, so then he was transferred to ICU.
The doctor performed an operation to try to clear his main airway in hopes to alleviate his struggle to breathe. Unfortunately, that didn't help.
Dad was really struggling, it was so heartbreaking to see him so uncomfortable and scared.
The next day, December 28th, the doctors explained that the bipap mask he was wearing would not give him the necessary support to survive. The doctors expressed the urgency along with a strong recommendation that they needed to take preventative measures.
They were worried that he could have stopped breathing, and his heart could have stopped beating. Dad was very scared, but trusted the doctors and consented to place him on the ventilator. They stated that this will give his lungs and the body rest, to heal and strengthen his muscles and nerves. During that time, the intensive care team worked together to determine the cause of it all. As a few long days passed, Doctors came to report that although it’s rare, they confirmed that half of his diaphragm is paralyzed, and it’s making his ability to breathe even harder and his muscles aren’t strong enough yet. While the doctors were watching him, they started to talk about doing a tracheotomy, to prevent the vocal cord from being damaged by the ventilator.
On January 10th, he agreed to get the tracheotomy, and the vent was connected through his Trach supporting his breathing.
After 3 weeks in the ICU, he was finally medically stable and able to be downgraded from intensive care. The doctors recommended that he be transferred to a respiratory facility and weaned off over time.
On January 18th, a bed became available and he was transferred to an acute care facility.
He is working very hard to heal, to breathe and to become stronger each day. This has been a very difficult process. The amount of pain, fear, and discomfort he has endured in the last month and a half has been extremely challenging to say the least.
Undoubtedly, he has been an absolute trooper. The determination he has is truly amazing.
We know he is extremely hardworking and driven. The example he set as we grew up, he always stood by us while reaching his goals. One of them is his beautiful home they bought in Georgetown.
He deserves to be relaxing there, with his smoker, smoking some ribs, surrounded by family, friends enjoying the life he worked his ass off for.
Dad is getting stronger, every day, but his road to recovery involves a lot of consistent physical therapy, and his diaphragm needs to strengthen.
He continues to make progress, and we have hope that he will no longer be dependent on the vent.
As he gets daily exercises to wean himself, all his muscles are recovering. Once he is off the ventilator, he will need to continue intensive physical therapy.
He will have to regain the strength to stand, walk and perform daily activities so that he can return home. This will be a long road, but if anybody can do it, it’s him.
We can celebrate the small but very significant milestones, we also face the harsh reality of financial obligations after insurance. The next 1 to 2 years of recovery will be unpredictable, and our family is unprepared for what the future may bring.
We are asking with enormous gratitude for any help to make sure dad and Cathy have everything he requires and can focus on his health and not worry about how he is going to pay his medical bills.
This is a challenging time for many families, as we all know too well and if you are still reading this thank you, god bless you and your family. Much love and hope,
The Branson sisters ❤️
Organizer and beneficiary
Barbie Branson
Organizer
Placerville, CA
Rickey Branson
Beneficiary