Hi. I’m Rick, though many people online know me as “Rick the Jerk.”

I run a small handyman business with a couple guys on my team, and I also run a YouTube channel where every week we take on repair projects for families who can’t afford help. Those jobs are always free.

Helping people like that has always mattered to me. Unfortunately, lately my body has started collecting receipts for the years I’ve pushed through pain.

For a long time I’ve worked while dealing with chronic conditions:

Scheuermann’s kyphosis, multiple herniated and bulging discs in my spine, and severe carpal and cubital tunnel in both arms.

Like most self-employed people, I kept going anyway. When your work feeds your family, you learn to push through. It helps when you're passionate about it.

Recently, while finishing two free repair projects for the channel at the same time, I sustained a new disc bulge that is now compressing a nerve in my spine.

The result hasn’t just been back pain. It’s caused hand tremors, weakness in my legs, difficulty sleeping, terrible trouble concentrating, and disruption to basic bodily functions.

That last one was the push I needed to seek medical attention. 2 separate ER trips eventually revealed the new bulging disc.

In short, it finally reached the point where I can’t just “tough it out” anymore.

And then things got a little more ridiculous.

One night recently I couldn’t sleep because of the spasms and nerve pain in my back. I did what I usually do when that happens: I went to my shop to tinker and take my mind off it.

In my sleep-deprived wisdom, I decided carving would be a good idea.

Just as I was finishing a toy I’d been making for my 3-year-old daughter (we call her “Baby Larry”), the rotary saw blade bound in the wood and kicked back into my left palm, my good hand, ripping through the thumb. (There's a short video on my YouTube channel featuring the incident if you're gross like that lol. It's not that graphic, just a few drops of blood in the video)

Luckily nothing was severed and no bone was damaged. But it required several deep stitches and left my already struggling hands even more limited for the moment.

So now both hands are compromised… just in time for surgery.

About the surgeries

Originally my first surgery was scheduled for March 10th.

After the thumb injury, I spoke with the surgical team and we decided it would be smarter to push the date back to April 17th so I’ll still have at least one usable hand when the recovery begins.

That surgery will address the severe nerve compression in my right arm.

For about 3–6 weeks after that surgery, I’ll effectively be one-armed.

Once that arm heals enough, I’ll need the same surgery on my left arm, which could put me at up to 12 weeks of severely limited ability to work.

At the same time, we still don’t know the full picture with my spine. Insurance requires at least two weeks of physical therapy before they’ll approve additional imaging or testing.

So right now we’re dealing with multiple issues at once, and the full scope won’t be clear until after the arm surgeries.

I am still trying to work

I want to be clear about something.

I am trying to keep working.

On the days when I’m able, I try to get out to jobs or work alongside my crew for a couple hours. Other days I’m mostly coaching them over their shoulders and helping however I can.

But the reality is that the successful “leave the house” days are spaced out right now.

About every other day I end up needing to rest almost entirely, lying down or reclining because of the nerve pain and spinal compression.

When I can get up, I have to spend time on my inversion table several times a day just to relieve the pressure in my spine. It helps temporarily, but the pain usually returns almost immediately once I’m back on my feet, and sometimes it’s intense enough that even breathing becomes difficult.

Right now my working capacity is roughly 25% of normal, and when I do work I’m moving at about half speed.

And because I won’t charge customers more just because I’m slower, limited output simply means limited income.

The financial reality is that, between the surgeries and recovery time, we may be facing up to three months with little or no reliable income.

After talking it through with members of our Discord community and people close to us, we decided to move forward with this fundraiser.

It wasn’t an impulsive decision. It was a reluctant one.

Our goal is $12,000, which would help bridge the gap while I recover.

Funds will go toward:

• Mortgage and household bills

• Groceries and family expenses

• Medical copays and travel for appointments

• Helping support my small team while work slows down

Take a look at the fundraiser updates and you'll notice I'm keeping a spend log of everything we purchase with the gofundme transfers. So far we've paid our February mortgage, March storage, insurance, purchased groceries, bandages for the thumb wound, etc.

Why this support matters

This help isn’t just about covering the financial gaps I won’t be able to fill during recovery as my family's sole provider.

It’s about giving me the ability to actually heal properly.

If I rush back into heavy work too quickly after surgery, I risk slowing the healing process or undoing the relief those surgeries are supposed to provide.

Having some breathing room financially means I can focus on recovering the right way, so I can get back to 100% sooner and keep doing the work I care about long-term.

If 400 people donate $30, we’ll reach the full $12,000 recovery goal.

If you’re able to donate, thank you more than I can say.

If donating isn’t possible, sharing the page helps more than you know.

I appreciate every single one of you who has followed along with this journey. And I'm proud of you. Because no matter what anybody else says, I see how hard you're working. I see how hard you're trying. And I can see that you.. are doing a Jood Job.

LoveYouBye

~ Rick