Richie Connelly is 27 years old. He's intelligent, kind, sensitive, and overall a wonderful young man. Suddenly, though, he has found himself fighting for his life. Richie's liver has failed and he needs a liver transplant; but on Sunday, April 30, 2017, shortly after his liver failure was diagnosed, Richie suffered a stroke which affected the use of his right arm and leg.

He was first admitted to the hospital in his hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan, but was transferred to Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit for more specialized care than he could get in Kalamazoo. Detroit is 2.5-3 hours away from home, depending on traffic and road construction, and the travel expenses for his family are prohibitive. His mother, Julie Connelly, has been driving five to six hours round-trip almost every day to be with him because, while the cost of gas is high, the cost of lodging is higher. His father, Bob Connelly, has to time his visits around his kidney dialysis schedule, but would be able to drive to Detroit for one-day visits on non-dialysis days and could spend entire weekends in Detroit if hotel rooms were more affordable.

Richie and his family need your help with the family's travel expenses, as well as with medical expenses that will come up that are not covered by his medical insurance. At this point, we don't know how high those bills might be, but we know that there will be some, and that the cost will be out of reach for Richie and his family.

Any help you might be able to provide would be so greatly appreciated. Richie's parents are exhausted from the long, daily round-trip travel and the stress of knowing that their son is so gravely ill, and just being able to stay overnight near the hospital would be a tremendous blessing.

Any funds raised will be used exclusively for travel expenses for his family so that they can be near him in Detroit, and for any medical expenses that are not covered by insurance.

Thank you so much for your help!