On August 23, 2025, Rick had open-heart surgery to deal with some blockage issues. Sometime during that surgery, Rick had a stroke. He struggled for several days at the hospital in Joplin, and they transferred him to a hospital in Tulsa with hope that the ECMO machine would help him get over the pneumonia and allow him to start breathing on his own. Since the ECMO machine is keeping him alive by oxygenating and recycling his blood, they aren’t able to unhook him from it to get an MRI or CAT scan to determine the severity of the stroke. Right now, the pneumonia in his lungs is keeping him from fully oxygenating his own blood.

We are in a Catch-22 situation. He becomes very agitated with the oxygen tube down his throat, which causes coughing fits, which causes his blood pressure to skyrocket, and which puts tremendous pressure on his heart and lungs. Earlier this week, one of his coughing episodes caused his heart to stop for eight seconds. To prevent the agitation, he has to be kept sedated, which hampers the healing process. The longer he stays on the ventilator, the less his chances for survival.

Rick’s doctors are recommending a tracheotomy. This will allow him to have the tube removed from his throat, and he can breathe through the trach without the agitation. He can eventually be removed from ECMO and get the necessary MRI or CAT scans to analyze the stroke. This will allow for quicker healing of his lungs. His body is going through a tremendous amount of stress right now.

The downside to a trach is it could damage his vocal cords. Afterwards, if he responds well to rehab, the trach can be removed. There are no guarantees for its success or his quality of life. But, it may be the only chance for us to keep him in our lives a while longer. I realize that this is in our Heavenly Father’s hands, but until then, I am far from family and friends, remaining by my husband's side, hoping and praying for the best while trying not to worry about the hospital bills that I know will be huge.