Race against time: Retired police sergeant needs help getting double lung transplant

Sergeant Rick Leach retired from the Holly Springs Police Department after serving 25 years, but now he and his wife are in a battle against time.

Sergeant Leach needs a double lung transplant.

Rick and Jann Leach say their love has sustained them through this very difficult time – and their determination has kept them focused on getting him on the lung transplant list.

Leach first noticed he had trouble breathing last summer – and by November he required oxygen to help him breathe.

As a Holly Springs Police Sergeant, he was always active and quick to flash a friendly smile.

He was also known for being great with kids – he was in charge of the School Resource Officers Team.

But life for Sergeant Leach is different these days.

"It's an adjustment," he said. "I'm not used to having to sit at home."

Leach and his wife Jann had to curtail their active lifestyle last year, when a doctor told them he was suffering with Pulmonary Fibrosis.

"He indicated that I was having a hardening of the lungs, and it was just something that was not going to reverse," he said. "It was just going to continue to get worse."

Leach is in urgent need of a double lung transplant.

"It's been tough seeing him go through this, but I have to say, the over-whelming support from the community has just been tremendous," said his wife Jann.

The Leach's have been together for several years, but are actually newlyweds. They got married a couple years ago, and Mrs. Leach says she is hoping for a long, happy marriage.

"I told him that he can't give me any less than 25 years. That's the minimum," she said jokingly. "I'm not going to accept any less than that, and I'm going to hold him to it."

The fundraising continues tonight at Vieni Ristorbar in Holly Springs.

It's just another example of how the Holly Springs community and others are rallying around Sgt. Leach and his wife Jann.

WRAL will continue to follow his journey and keep you posted.