Your donation to Help Hope Live in Honor of Ricky Crosby will fund uninsured medical expenses for double lung transplantation with tax deductible benefit!

WARNING: THERE ARE MIRACLES IN THIS STORY For those who don’t know him, meet my husband, Ricky Crosby. Because illness invaded our lives, he is a recently retired juvenile law enforcement officer. We have two great kids. He delights bragging about them. Ricky loves the Lord and thank goodness; he is so strong in his faith! That strength has led our family and our community through this faith-building experience. Rickis a “glass half full” kind of guy. He enjoys quality time and laughter. Board games, movies, card games with family, and Bible Studies with his buddies from Church are things he loves to do. Ricky also enjoys spending time with his fraternity brothers. He is a 30-year, Life Member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc, Kappa XI Chapter out of Las Vegas, Nevada and he would say “RQQ to da Good Bruhz!”  Just as the country was coming out of covid-isolation in August 2022, our long and arduous trip toward lung transplant began. Ricky felt discomfort in his chest for several days, went to the Emergency Room and was first misdiagnosed, then treated for COVID. The associated pneumonia was ignored. It worsened and Covid returned two months later. Maybe it never cleared. A frightening myriad of ER, urgent care, and doctor visits followed. Doctors struggled to figure out what was going on.Eventually, in April 2023, Ricky was hospitalized, and a diagnosis of Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) was delivered. We had no idea what that meant! A referral to a doctor from Stanford who operated an Advanced Lung Care Clinic in our area was made but we could not get in until after an appointment that we’d already scheduled with Mayo Clinic. Ricky was very sick and losing weight. Being put on 24-hour oxygen meant that he would be unable to return to work. Eventually, both hospitals came to the same conclusion- career ending, permanent disability and a rare case of an auto immune disease called Sjogren’s that he didn’t know he had.Sjogren’s normally attacks the mucus membranes around the mouth and eyes and is not life threatening. Ricky’s is a rare case that had aggressively attacked his lungs! They still don’t know for sure what covid-19’s role was in Ricky’s condition. Did it activate it? Make it aggressive? Was it incidental? But Sjogren’s had destroyed 40% of his lung function in just the first 3 months of diagnosis! Thankfully, the doctors were able to come up with a medication management plan to slow, but they could not stop the attack on Ricky’s lungs. There is no cure for ILD, which turns your lungs into something like a “dried up sponge left underneath the kitchen cabinet”. The only treatment would be transplant. He needed to lose another 50 lbs, get on Pulmonary Therapy, continue the anti-fibrotic medicines (costing $1,000s per pill) and prepare for transplant.On September 26, 2024, Ricky achievied Stanford’s transplant weight goal, despite his impaired breathing, and was listed on their organ transplant procurement list. Amazingly, just four days later, on September 30, 2024, Ricky received a phone call from Stanford’s Transplant Team stating they had the perfect set of lungs! We were medically air lifted to Stanford University Hospital the next day. On August 1, 2024, Ricky had a successful double lung transplant.We are fundraising for assistance with medical, transportation, caregiving and relocation expenses. Due to the seriousness of the surgery, after discharge from the hospital, we must remain in Palo Alto, CA for 3-6 months and we must relocate no more than 25 minutes away from Stanford Hospital. However, it is in Silicon Valley, one of the most expensive zip codes in the nation. We also must maintain all of our normal expenses back home and on 25% less income than before.Ricky’s team estimates his goal to be $30,000. If there are any setbacks due to his immune system being so compromised, his stay could be extended. Also, once he gets back to Las Vegas, he could need to be medically air lifted back to Stanford if he got sick within the first year of his transplant.Ricky’s testimony is that “God is amazing!” He says it is a blessing to be able to breathe on your own without the assistance of an oxygen tank, tubing or concentrator. He is thankful for his donor and his new lungs. He is eager and ready to get back to some kind of normal living and spending time with his family and friends. He’s a very social guy and it has been a rough 2 years of isolation for him. Our family never got to come out after Covid. Please donate to Ricky’s Help Hope Live campaign today and please ask your friends and family to give and share the link! As a medical non-profit, Help Hope Live allows you to be able to give with potential tax deductibility and assures fiscal accountability of the funds raised. We would love to plan a fundraiser event in Ricky’s honor back home soon, so if you have ideas or would like to assist, please contact, me at [email protected]. Thank you for your generous support. ~ Tanisha