Rich's Medical Fund

Rich just celebrated his 55th birthday this past January. He is married to Debbie and has two daughters, Samantha and Rachael. He has three brothers and a loving mother. He is an honorary grandfather to 5 amazing kids and has a puppy who loves to go for walks with him.

On Monday, February 16, he had a mild heart attack while at work in Janesville, WI. He is a service technician who travels all around the northern Illinios and southern Wisconsin region. He did not realize that he was having a heart attack, but he felt God tell him he needed to go see his doctor instead of moving on to his next job further into Wisconsin. Once he arrived at the doctor's office, they ran a quick test and called an ambulance immediately.

When he arrived at the hospital, they informed him he had a heart attack and needed a stint. The nurses gave him blood thinners that night, and the next morning (Tuesday, February 17) he went to the Cath lab. The doctor had to wake him up and tell him he needed a triple bypass, because the three main arteries to his heart were 100%, 90%, and 80-90% blocked. The doctor came out to inform us and said we probably had a few hours with him before he would be ready for surgery, and he led us back into the waiting area where he was surrounded by nurses and a surgeon.

The surgeon informed us we had less than 10 minutes with him until his [Quadruple] bypass, because they had just halted another man's surgery (which was more of an optional surgery) to allow for Rich to be operated on immediately. As they began cutting into him, he had a second heart attack. Thankfully, because the surgeon was right there, a lot of damage was avoided with this second attack. The procedure lasted 4.5 hours, and the surgeon informed us that he actually had a QUINTUPLE bypass. He has been recovering in the CCU the rest of Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday morning. By noon on Thursday he has been removed from the CCU and placed into a regular hospital room.

The nurses and doctors say he is recoving well, but he will be in the hospital for another five days (probably). After he comes home, he will need someone to stay with him continuously for the next few weeks. He will probably be out of work for another 7-10 weeks, and his wife has been out of work this past week and probably the next few as well to help take care of him. His daughters, brothers, mother, and friends are all helping in anyway they can. We are all very thankful for the prayers, encouraging words, and support we have received these past few days. We would like to raise some money to help offset the hospital bills and to help with our finances over the next few weeks that both Rich and Deb will be out of work.