Having experienced a severe head trauma that almost cost him his life during an accident at work on December 30th, 1995, Ricky has learned an important lesson that he now is willing to share: Every action we take, every choice we make could have consequences that we might not want to have to live with.

That day Ricky didn’t evaluate a hazard and just wanted to get the job done and get to the next one putting his and his colleague’s life and wellbeing in jeopardy. The job didn’t go as planned – a large piece of slag fell and struck Ricky in the head fracturing his skull, causing him to nearly lose his life – and his family- a father, a husband, a brother, and a son.

Thankfully Ricky lived, and until this day, he remembers December 30th, 1995 as the luckiest day of his life. Sure he was lucky to survive, but most importantly, he was lucky to have the man running the man lift that day, Dale Baldwin, who trusted him as an experienced supervisor for his safety, was not struck with the piece of slag that day. If something had happened to Dale that day, Ricky couldn’t blame anyone but himself, and how could he continue living knowing that the things he almost cost his family, he almost cost another man’s family those same things.

That day caused Ricky to realize that we all hold more than our own wellbeing in our hands. That day could have caused a tragedy in two families, all because of Ricky not taking time to evaluate the job and recognize the hazards and if you think about it, it sure wasn’t worth it. He realized that life's occurrences don't just touch us, they affect everyone who cares about us, and we need to take precautions and prevent accidents from happening to our best abilities.