Riddick's Medical/Related Expenses

It is with great sadness that we lost Riddick on his 3rd birthday, 3/29/15, when he was called to heaven. Riddick was such a happy, brave, little boy.  Not one day goes by that we don’t think about Riddick, and miss him.  We would love for you to hear his story:

Riddick was born on March 29, 2012 and immediately ended up in the NICU on a ventilator, due to his inability to breathe on his own.  He also had heart issues, so when he was stable, he was transferred to Children’s Memorial Hospital where he had open heart surgery.  Riddick was eventually diagnosed with a rare chromosome 5q deletion that is extremely rare, which left his future unknown.

Riddick finally came home at 2 ½ months old on oxygen and a feeding tube.  Riddick had 23 different doctors/therapists that he saw due to his condition.  He was diagnosed with chronic lung disease, heart disease, kidney disease, seizers, low muscle tone, severe developmental delays and the list goes on.  Riddick was unable to rollover, crawl, talk, sit, stand, or walk.  Riddick’s mother, Kristin quit her full-time job to take care of Riddick, along with the other three children.  Riddick’sfather, Scott helped care for Riddick when he was home from work and on the weekends.  Both Scott & Kristin went to specialists appointments for Riddick.

Riddick was exclusively G-tube fed and his food was a special pureed diet, made by Scott.  Every time Riddick went into the hospital, the food would have to be transported to the hospital every other day, so that it was fresh to provide the best quality of food for him.

Riddick was a happy little boy and would occasionally smile, and it just made your day!!  Riddick had a special box that he would lay in and play, he would bang his feet and reach up and try and grab the items hanging over his head – he was truly happy in there hanging out.  He went everywhere with the family – to birthday parties, holiday parties, bowling, baseball games, picnics, and even to the mall.  Riddick even went for bike rides with the family in the bike trailer Scott adapted for him.  Riddick had favorite toys that he would love to play with, and his brothers and sisterwould play with him or read to him.  Their dog, Bandit, loved Riddick and would lay by him and sleep with him on the floor and always knew when Riddick was sick.


Riddick was in and out of the hospital numerous times with upper respiratory infections.  His hospital stays could last days to weeks.  In 2014, he got a virus that landed him in the hospital for 5 ½ months.  It was during that time, a decision was made that Riddick would become trach and ventilator dependent.  In order for Riddick to come home from the hospital, the home had to be remodeled and home nursing was required.  Since Riddick required 24 hour care, a nurse helped out 8 hours during the day and 8 hours at night so that Scott and Kristin could sleep.  When nursing care was not available, Scott and Kristin took care of Riddick for 24 hours straight.  This was an expensive and extensive job, adding a whole house generator to run the equipment, along with all the handicapped accessible renovations.

Riddick finally came home, and it was quite a celebration!!  It was great to have Riddick home and he was happy to be there.  He was himself again, and glad to be with his parents, siblings, dog, extended family members and friends.

Riddick was home for about three months when he got sick with a virus and the paramedics were called.  He was transported to the hospital and was again admitted to the PICU.  He was a very sick little guy, and was diagnosed with the RSV virus, along with ARDS.  He fought the mighty fight, but his little body just could not fight this nasty virus.  This is when Riddick was called to heaven on 3/29/15.


Some say their hero is Superman, some may even say it's Spiderman.  From the bottom of our hearts we can tell you ours is Riddick.  There is so much our family has learned from Riddick in these 3 short years; the strength of his mother, the fight in his father, the courage of his sister and the bravery of his brothers - the perfect ingredients of a hero!!   With an added hug from an aunt, a kiss from a grandmother, the support of an uncle, the drive of a grandfather and the faith of a cousin; this little boy pulled the family together to show us these qualities in the darkest of times.

The money raised on this site will help to cover the cost of Riddick’s medical bills and other expenses that have accumulated.  There are still unpaid expenses from the construction to make the home handicapped accessible.  Anything that you are willing to do to help this amazing family would be greatly appreciated.

For more information about Riddick and the details of a true hero and his family visit Riddick's Ride at:

www.riddicksride.org