A home away from home: Fort Bragg's Fisher House helps Soldiers, families

Photo By Sgt. Jessica Kuhn | Spc. Benjamin J. Watson, 49th Public Affairs Detachment (Airborne), holds up a pair of...... read more read more

Photo By Sgt. Jessica Kuhn | Spc. Benjamin J. Watson, 49th Public Affairs Detachment (Airborne), holds up a pair of his airborne wings remembering the night jump that caused multiple fractures in his spine. It was that jump that led Watson and his family to stay at the Fort Bragg Fisher House. The Fisher House is a place for Soldiers who have been injured in an accident at Fort Bragg, N.C., or a tragedy from the war, to come and recover, said Paula Gallero, the Fort Bragg Fisher House Manager.  see less | View Image Page

FORT BRAGG, NC, UNITED STATES

06.29.2009

Story by Spc. Jessica Kuhn 

49th Public Affairs Detachment   

✔ ✗ Subscribe

36

FORT BRAGG, N.C. — When a Soldier makes the decision to serve our country, so does the family. The family is right there next to the Soldier enduring the many moves, separations and sometimes more critical situations.

It's when those serious situations arise that the Army and its supporters come together to ensure the Soldier and his or her family are taken care of during their time of need.

One of those supporters is the Fisher House Foundation.

Because Soldiers and their families are stationed worldwide and never know when they might find themselves in a bind, the Fisher House Foundation has set up a unique program to help provide temporary housing for Soldiers and their families when they find themselves away from home, according to the Fisher House website, www.fisherhouse.org.

"In my words, the foundation is awesome," said Paula Gallero, the Fort Bragg Fisher House manager. "Without the foundation, we wouldn't be here. They donate all the houses, furnishing them down to the last spoon before turning it over to the military as a gift."

The Fisher House Foundation's website also states there is at least one Fisher House at every major military medical center helping to enable family members to be near loved ones at the most stressful times free of cost.

"When I was still in the hospital, my father and mother came down to visit me," said Pfc. Daniel L. Conley, 1st Squadron, 38th Cavalry Regiment, 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade (Airborne). "They needed a place to stay and wanted to be close to me so my case worker suggested the Fisher House."

Conley, a native of Elkton, Va., suffered from a foot injury which required two surgeries and a weeklong stay at the Womack Army Medical Center, he explained.
However, after Conley was released from the hospital, he realized his third floor barracks posed a problem because of his inability to walk up stairs.

"The first three weeks of my injury I was on crutches and had a hard time walking," Conley said. "I came here to the Fisher House and they put me right on the ground floor so I didn't have to use any steps."

It's the helpfulness, like in the Conley family's situation, that invites all guests to return to the house either as a tenant or sometimes a volunteer.

"One thing I have noticed over the years is the most dedicated volunteers are the ones who have used the Fisher House," said Rebecca Schwitters, a volunteer at the Fort Bragg Fisher House.

A look back in time

"The Fisher House Foundation is a responsive, flexible, dedicated organization and nothing has changed since the first day I walked in back in 1993 when the Fort Bragg location opened," Schwitters said.

The Fort Bragg location truly felt the need of the Fisher House back when it opened two weeks prior to the Battle of Mogadishu, better known to most as "Black Hawk Down," the movie which depicted the battle.

"I was called in by a friend to see if I could bring some food in," Schwitters explained. "A large family was coming in, the family of Sgt. 1st Class Earl Fillmore Jr. The group consisted of his mother, and father, as well as six sisters and three brothers-in-law along with a dozen small children who all needed a place to stay."

Besides the Battle of Mogadishu, the Fisher House has also supported Soldiers and their families during the Pope Air Force Base crash, where an F-16 fighter aircraft and C-130 transport aircraft collided in the bases landing pattern, resulting in the death 24 paratroopers and injuring almost a 100 additional paratroopers. In more recent times, the Fisher House has supported Soldiers fighting in the War on Terrorism.

"Mr. Fisher's motto was, 'It's a home away from home,'" Gallero, a native of Santa Fe, N.M., said. "When we first opened the doors, the house was just for families of Soldiers with critical medical problems. Then the war started and now we're more of a home of recovery for either accidents at Fort Bragg or tragedies from the war."

In 1990, Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher first started the Fisher House program, dedicating more than $20 million to the construction of new homes for military members and families, the Fisher House website explained.

Gallero, who has been the manager of the Fort Bragg Fisher House for almost 18 years, said she couldn't be happier with her job.

"It's total job satisfaction," Gallero said. "As long as you are happy you will do a good job. If anyone is as happy as I am, I know they're doing a great job."

Gallero's job, like every other Fisher House manager, is to take the best care of the Soldier's and their families as she can.

"Rule one is to take care of the Soldier's and their families; rule two is read rule one and follow," Schwitters said. "It's very simple."

A paratroopers worst nightmare

"It's still terrifying to imagine," explained Spc. Benjamin J. Watson, 49th Public Affairs Detachment (Airborne). "It was a night jump, and as soon as I exited the plane, the lower jumper was yelling that I'd been caught in his lines. In fact, I had about a quarter of his chute's lines wrapped around my helmet and my own chute was only half-deployed. In no time at all, I had slammed to the ground and I was just praying I wasn't paralyzed."

This nightmare scenario quickly led to Watson, a native of Dalton, Ky., being taken to the emergency trauma room of Fort Bragg's Womack Army Medical Center with multiple fractures in his spine, he said.

Just a few hours later, he was rushed to Cape Fear Valley Medical Center where he underwent medical treatment and evaluation.

After being discharged from the hospital, Watson, a single Soldier living in the barracks, and his family, who had traveled here from Colorado, needed a place to stay.

"It was so easy to reserve a room at the Fisher House," said Carole Watson, the mother of Benjamin. "We had a free room available on the first day we spoke to the manager."

Upon arrival to the Fisher House, the Watson family was quickly welcomed by the polite staff and pleasant accommodations, said Carole, a native of Alamosa, Colo.

"The accommodations were wonderful," she said. "We had a private suite with everything we needed along with an open kitchen right in the house."

Benjamin also agreed the staff, especially the manager, were very helpful to him and his family.

"I was hurting a lot after leaving the hospital," he said. "Because of the managers and all the volunteers' help, I was able to lie down and relax, which definitely helped relieve some of the pain."

As a result of all the generosity the Watson family found at the Fisher House, they were able to rest and make the appropriate plans for a full recovery.

"At a time when we couldn't think clearly, the Fisher House gave us a place to take a break and provided a calm atmosphere to think through decisions making sure to take the right steps in our son's recovery journey," Carole said.

Altogether, the Watson family unanimously agreed the Fisher House provided comfort during one of the most straining times their family had been through.

"This is a wonderful project that fills a valuable need for folks that are in a difficult time of their lives with an injured Soldier," said Carole. "I would highly recommend this facility to all military families in need of help!"