Summary: Serious health challenges have left Ephraim Rickert unable to work. Your support will help cover essential medical costs and basic living expenses while he recovers. Your support will directly help his family stay afloat during this difficult time.
Our team personally verified this need with local clergy.
Our Story
When we moved to Arizona to be near Saint Anthony’s Monastery, we knew we’d be starting a new chapter — and we also brought with us some ongoing health concerns. Ephraim was already experiencing debilitating migraines and long COVID symptoms, and shortly after the move, Ephraimia developed intense facial and jaw pain.
During that time, Ephraim took a job as a correctional officer to provide for the family and secure better insurance. Unfortunately, the physically demanding work severely impacted his feet. He continued to work 16-hour shifts up and down the floors and stairs of the prison until eventually, both feet began to break down structurally from the conditions of Morton’s Neuroma and Plantar Fasciitis, leaving him barely able to walk. Fortunately, during this time the correctional insurance and income was able to get us through and help pay for the crucial treatment that Ephraimia needed to get better. She was finally diagnosed with Trigeminal Neuralgia and TMJ. Thankfully, with the care of a skilled biological dentist and upper cervical chiropractor, most of her pain has been resolved — though insurance didn’t cover all of it, and we’re still carrying medical debt.
Upon returning to truck driving to stay off his feet, Ephraim suffered another serious setback — after having previously fallen backwards out of his truck onto the blacktop at work, he suffered a second fall on a concrete floor at home, breaking his tailbone. This prevented him from being able to work in corrections or as a truck driver.
We’ve since learned he has a broken and displaced coccyx, along with ligament and cartilage damage. Ephraim is unable to sit or stand for any length of time and even driving to an appointment that is an hour away takes a week to recover from due to the incredible pain. While the path to healing is slow, we’re encouraged by a promising treatment plan involving PRP (platelet-rich plasma) and dextrose injections. These advanced therapies offer hope for real recovery — but they’re not covered by insurance. While difficult to predict exact timing, it is likely to take 6-9 months from now to get the tailbone healed enough to work at a job that requires sitting, standing or driving.
Although each injury and ailment we are enduring is difficult in its own way, it is not only their individual severity, but the combination of them all together that has brought us to such dire circumstances physically and financially. The overlapping trials have been long and challenging, and we have exhausted all of our resources. Yet we are full of hope that with your help Ephraim’s spine can be restored to health, so that he will be able to return to work and we will be made stronger from the struggle.
Where We Are Now
Despite the hardships, we continue to move forward with faith, gratitude, and determination:
- We’ve used our savings and sold our vehicles to cover basic needs.
- We’re doing everything we can to keep our home and maintain stability for our children.
- We remain hopeful that this treatment plan will allow Ephraim to return to work and provide again.
How You Can Help
We’re seeking donations to help cover:
- Out-of-pocket medical treatments
- Travel costs to access specialist care
- Basic living expenses during Ephraim’s recovery
No gift is too small — every dollar brings us closer to recovery and keeps our family together and housed through this season. Most of all, your support reminds us that we’re not walking this road alone.
With Grateful Hearts
To all who have supported us with your prayers, kindness, and love — thank you. Your compassion gives us courage and strength to keep going. We’ll continue to share updates, and we ask that you please consider sharing this fundraiser with others who may be able to help.
With heartfelt gratitude,
The Rickert Family
Ephraim, Ephraimia, Ellena, Basil, Herman, and Justina
*If you would prefer to donate by check or cash instead, checks can be made out to Jamie Rickert (legal name). The mailing address is:
23671 E Hoyt Rd, Florence, AZ 85132
Glory to God!
So much has happened since our last update—it’s truly been a whirlwind! We are overjoyed to finally share some encouraging news. Significant progress has been made, and we are feeling incredibly hopeful as we continue on this path toward healing.
Recently, we traveled to San Diego for an extended visit with Neil Sturman of Clear Passage. Neil is a rare specialist with extensive experience in non-surgical healing of the coccyx, often avoiding what typically results in surgical removal. His holistic approach and deep commitment to working with the entire body made a profound impact.
During intensive daily therapy sessions, Neil was able to identify and address the root causes of Ephraim’s migraines, which were linked to specific problem areas in his back and neck. The focus was on reducing scar tissue, inflammation, and inflexibility, with the goal of restoring both the neck and tailbone to their natural alignment. Through persistent and precise deep tissue work, we gradually achieved improved mobility and alignment in Ephraim’s spine. As a result, his headaches began to subside. The relief has been remarkable—he’s now free from the constant brain fog that once weighed him down. The coccyx pain has also diminished, and the tailbone itself is in a much healthier position.
With this major step complete, we’re now transitioning into the next phase of treatment: healing the damaged ligaments that anchor the coccyx and help keep it stable.
At the same time, Ephraimia experienced a resurgence of her own neck issues, which had become severely aggravated. Thanks to your generous almsgiving, we had the resources to get her the immediate care she needed. Structurally, her neck appears to be back in place, but like Ephraim, she’s also dealing with ligament damage that hinders long-term healing. Based on her progress, we believe prolotherapy injections will be key to stabilizing her head and neck over the long term.
Upon returning to Arizona, Ephraim began treatment with Dr. Tallman in Scottsdale—a leading expert in regenerative injection therapy. After a thorough review of Ephraim’s CT scan, Dr. Tallman developed a plan to treat not just the coccyx, but the entire lower back. He discovered a bulging disc and other underlying issues that required attention. Using a dextrose solution, Dr. Tallman began a series of regenerative injections. Though Ephraim was understandably nervous about the procedure, he felt the Lord strengthening him—through the prayers of all of you who have been remembering him. He successfully completed the first round and is now feeling confident in facing future treatments.
Our plan is to continue these injections every 6 to 8 weeks until full healing is achieved. Ephraimia will also be meeting with Dr. Tallman soon to develop her own individualized treatment plan.
We are incredibly grateful that God has guided us to the right specialists—healers who are not only skilled but truly passionate about restoring health in the most natural, non-invasive ways possible. We cannot recommend them highly enough to anyone facing similar challenges.
Words fall short when it comes to thanking all of you. None of this would have been possible without your prayers, generosity, and unwavering support. This has truly been a life-changing experience for our family. For the first time in a long time, we feel genuine hope for complete healing.
Thank you for being such an indispensable part of this journey. We are humbled and deeply grateful.
With love and gratitude,
The Rickert Family
We are overwhelmed and humbled by your abundant compassion and generosity!
Before our friends began this fundraiser for our family, we were feeling very alone, and as you might imagine, pretty downtrodden. We were on the verge of losing our rental home, and having trouble seeing how we would be able to climb out of these difficulties.
Ephraimia has been doing everything she can to do odd jobs and find work to make ends meet, but it wasn’t enough.
Now suddenly, everyone we know and love has rallied around us to help us get better — adding our names in the Liturgical prayers, sending care packages, giving us supplements, herbs, essential oils, and advice for detoxifying and cleansing. You have lifted up our family when we were at our lowest point, and we know that God is working in our lives through all of you!
Thanks to you, we now have the funds to begin the healing process.
Ephraim has been officially accepted into the specialist’s treatment program. They will first work towards removing any scar tissue (adhesions), allowing the coccyx to be manipulated back into place.
After this is accomplished, he will be ready to begin the PRP injections to heal the ligaments and cartilage damage, which will keep the coccyx in its proper place. We will continue to keep you updated as we make progress. Please remember us in your prayers!