COLUMBIA, S.C. — The Rickard family is counting their blessings this weekend as they rally behind Lance Corporal Rickard, who was hospitalized after a motorcycle crash.
It's a call Madison Rickard has feared for years - that her husband, Lance Corporal Zachary Rickard, was injured.
"I answered it, and all I heard was 'This is captain...' and after that, it went blurry," she said. "It was definitely my worst nightmare."
According to the Lexington Country Sheriff's Department, Rickard was involved in a crash with a privately owned truck in neighboring Orangeburg County while riding a South Carolina Highway Patrol motorcycle. Rickard was sent to Prisma Health Hospital in Richland.
"There were two troopers outside, and I walked in the door with them, and they took me up there, and just lined down the hallway were troopers," she said. "I turn the corner, and they're just lined down the hall."
Rickard said her husband injured his legs but miraculously survived the ordeal, avoiding serious injuries to his neck and spine.
"He was pretty messed up, and I took a glance at his legs, and it wasn't good," she said. "They were able to put external fixators because his femurs were pretty messed up. "
She posted online about her husband's condition and the crash and said she's received support from more than 30 states. Serve and Connect, a law enforcement support organization, started a fundraiser for the Rickards and raised over $10,000 for bills, therapy, and other expenses as of Sunday.
"It's such a blessing what those people are doing behind the scenes that a lot of people don't know about," she said. "They're able to get law enforcement and community together because together we are better."
Rickard said Zachary will undergo physical therapy but maintains a positive spirit. She said there is a long road to recovery but is focussing on her and her husband's faith in God for strength.
"The future is very bright; he is still alive; I'm bedside, not graveside," she said. "So, I have a lot to be thankful for. I think this, right here, will be a good testimony of his faith because he's really clung to the Lord and realized that, 'Hey, I will get through this.'"
The Lexington Sheriff's Department said the truck driver was not injured, and their work on the case is ongoing.