Montel Williams, a former Marine turned television host, suffered a hemorrhagic stroke seven years ago and spent a month in the hospital — and all the while, his wife was at his side.
“The fact that I had family there helping me with my care, telling me I can make it, telling me don’t give up” made all the difference, Williams said with misty eyes.
“That’s what they do here at Fisher House,” Williams said Tuesday while serving as master of ceremonies at the opening and dedication of a Fisher House in North Chicago.
Williams’ wife did not stay at a Fisher House, but families of active military and veterans who are receiving medical treatment around the country stay at the homes, which are run by Fisher House Foundation. In 35 years, the foundation has opened houses across the United States, as well as in Germany and the U.K. The temporary housing provided to families is free.
On Tuesday, upward of 300 veterans, active service members and associates gathered at the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago for the opening and dedication ceremony of the 100th Fisher House.
“These families bear burdens and make sacrifices that the average American will never understand,” said Ken Fisher, grand-nephew of founder Zachary Fisher and current CEO. “As long as the hospital stay dictates, the families will have a free place to stay.”
When Ann Arbor resident Rachelle Nugent’s son suffered a traumatic brain injury in the line of duty, she went immediately to meet him in California without a thought of where she would stay. She hadn’t heard of Fisher House until that day, but since then, she considers it a second home.
Because of the severity of her son’s injury, Nugent had to quit her job to be with him for his extensive recovery, both to provide support and make care decisions. She said that without the Fisher House’s accommodations, she isn’t sure that she would have been able to be with her son.
While Nugent was at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center Fisher House, she met Felicia Perez Kausin, who was there to care for her World War II veteran father, the 104-year-old David G. Perez. Kausin and Nugent ended up living at the Palo Alto Fisher House for more than a year, as their family members received treatment. Despite the hardship they went through, both are grateful to have found community in the Fisher House. They both laughed and came close to tears as they told their stories Tuesday in the kitchen of the new Lovell Fisher House in North Chicago.
Secretary of Veteran Affairs Douglas Collins spoke at Tuesday’s event and praised the staff of the Fisher Houses for going above and beyond. “You go through those doors, it leads to open arms, it leads to someone who’s willing to take the time to listen. It leads to someone who cares.”
The North Chicago house was officially dedicated by former Army Sgt. Allen Lynch, who received the Medal of Honor for heroic actions during the Vietnam War. The House is dedicated to the memory of Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher, the couple who founded the organization.
The Fisher House in North Chicago is the second to be built in Illinois. A Fisher House at Hines Veterans Affairs Hospital near Broadview opened in 2010 and reports serving over 14,000 guests in its 15 years of operation.
Randall Keith, a Vietnam veteran with Parkinson’s, PTSD and diabetes, visits Hines quite a bit with his wife, Carolyn Cromwell.
The couple lives a couple of hours away in downstate Gilman, and eight or nine years ago, when one of Keith’s appointments at Hines fell on a day when a winter storm was rolling in, they asked the hospital if there were any motels close by
Instead of a motel, the couple was directed to the Hines Fisher House, and since that first visit, they have never stayed anywhere else.
“When my husband was in the hospital, he didn’t worry about me being on the road, because he knew all I did was walk across the street and down a half a block, and I was in a secure place,” Cromwell said. “It’s just a worry off of his mind, and mine, too, because if anything happens during the night, all they have to do is call me, and I just have to run across the street.”
For Cromwell and Keith, Fisher House has created a support system.
“Some of them were going over for a chemo treatment the next day, and some of them were there for just a regular checkup, and some were there checking to see if they were eligible for a kidney transplant or a heart surgery. And so with us just sitting there and talking and having a good time, even though they were going to have a very stressful day the next day, there was still time there to laugh and enjoy.” Cromwell said. “I videoed the whole table once. And they’re laughing, and some are laughing so hard they have tears running down their cheeks.”
The 100th Fisher House was built across the street from the Lovell Federal Health Care Center in North Chicago. Lovell, a retired Navy captain, astronaut, and famed commander of the Apollo 13 mission, attended the dedication. The Lovell Care Center was the first hospital to serve both veterans and active service members when it was opened in 2010. North Chicago is also home to Naval Station Great Lakes, a Navy boot camp.
The manager of the new Fisher House will be Kimberly Skorupa, who has worked with the VA for 24 years, both in physical therapy and volunteer services. Skorupa was presented with a ceremonial key as part of the dedication ceremony.
“I want it to be a place where they can focus on their loved ones healing, and not where they will stay, where their next meal will come from or where they’re going to be able to do a load of laundry,” Skorupa said. “I want to focus on meeting like any possible guest’s need that I can and truly creating an atmosphere that is a home away from home for them.”
