Hi y'all,

Sarah Vaughn here-- I am organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Alyssa and Rich Plummer. As you may have heard, on January 21, 2026, Rich suffered a major heart attack due to a blockage in his LAD artery.

When the EMTs got to him (thankfully very quickly) he had no pulse. CPR was initiated and they regained a pulse and rushed him to the ER. In the ER, he had an abnormal but shockable arrhythmia but then unfortunately coded. It took another 20 minutes of CPR to bring him back and he was then rushed to the cath lab to find the blockage. A stent was placed and he has been in the ICU since.

As of today (Jan 23, 2026) Rich is still intubated and largely unresponsive. His kidneys are struggling due to the stress of the cardiac event. He has been placed on 24/7 dialysis to help support his kidneys and keep him from decompensating. A CT scan this afternoon shows severe brain edema (swelling) and the neurologist thinks that the pattern of the brain is consistent with a pseudosubarachnoid hemorrhage, which means there is likely substantial damage to the brain. They decided to move forward with an MRI, which is happening this evening, but no results yet.

If you know Rich and Alyssa, you have seen then work SO unbelievably hard to support one another. Alyssa graduated vet school in May of 2025 and they recently moved to Illinois for Alyssa's first veterinary job. They bought a house (!) and then Alyssa recently needed knee surgery. They've been navigating that recovery, house payments, student loan payments, living in a new place, and starting a new job. Through vet school with Alyssa, Rich has helped our friends move, lugged a million boxes for the vet school's silent auction, served me wine and cheese when Alyssa has hosted game nights, an generally been the kindest, most supportive partner that I could ever wish for my friend to have.

Rich and Alyssa's out of pocket maximum for insurance is $18,000 for 2026 (naturally, Alyssa's surgery was in Dec 2025 and the policy year started over Jan 1). I'd like this fundraiser to reach that amount at MINIMUM so that they are not concerned with medical bills. Ideally, we can raise much more. As mentioned, they currently have lots of new expenses and I do not want Alyssa to have to work as she navigates this new reality. Rich is in very critical condition, so there is a long road ahead no matter what happens.

Alyssa has asked for prayers/thoughts/vibes/whatever you believe in that Rich makes it through this. Please show support in whatever way you are able to do so.