Ricky was born on 6/16/1976 in Alamogordo New Mexico. There were a couple of issues he had like polydactyly, but at the time that was nothing of great concern. later at 6 months of age he began to have seizures which the doctor’s thought were just caused by a fever. At 1 year old Ricky again begin to have seizures which he had for several days. He was put on seizure medication and did well on it. At 5 years old he no longer had to take the medication. Never in all his Dr. appointments were we aware of any heart issues with Ricky.

We found out about Ricky’s condition when he contracted covid on 12/20/2021. His oxygen levels continued to drop after being seen at Yuma, so we decided to drive him to Mayo Hospital to the ER in Phoenix. He was hospitalized for covid related pneumonia. They did x-rays and one of the nurses at Mayo noticed something that did not look right with his x-ray. She noticed his heart seemed enlarged. She brought it to the attention of the Doctor seeing Ricky, and he decided to do more testing on his heart. (Thank God for wonderful caring nurses). Ricky always says having Covid saved his life because they found his heart issue because of Covid. During the testing the Physicians found he had a significant aortic valve problem. They said it was significant enough to do surgery. He probably had it since birth, but since he never complains about anything we never suspected he could have this heart condition. They had to wait to do the surgery until after they were sure he no longer had pneumonia and was over the covid. His surgery was scheduled on for 3/9/2022. He never once complained about anything and was such a strong man. After the surgery he had a couple of complications, he coded once, then a couple of months later he was having a little trouble breathing so we took him back to Mayo and he was admitted because fluid was accumulating around the heart. They put a catheter in his side to drain the fluid. Since then, he has done very well.

Ricky is one of Tenacity and a great faith that only Christ could bestow to Ricky. He has a kind, loving spirit, and is a blessing to all our family. He never gets angry or has a bad day. His major concern through all the beginning of his journey with his heart surgery was “when can I go back to work?”. He loves his co-workers as dear friends, and they all watch after him. He is also a movie buff and loves to buy movies every time he goes to Walmart. He also enjoys going to the movies with me and his dad. Ricky continues to receive care at Mayo for his heart. I found that Addies Packs Facebook page was so inspiring, with such uplifting stories of faith, courage, and strength.