JBLM Fisher House and Staff,

Words and actions could never be enough to say and express how very blessed we are to have Fisher House at a time like this. If someone were to ask me what is the Fisher House 4 months ago, I would have nothing to say. If someone were to ask me now, I would gladly smile and answer with an open and proud heart. To know and learn the history of how the Fisher House came about made me so thankful of such wonderful people such as the Fishers who started a Foundation like this. It is quite touching and I was at a loss for words when I learned about the Fisher House.

To work for Fisher House and to be involved around it takes a lot of heart and compassion. Somewhat like going to work but bringing your home with you. It’s like how family is together and having that around you. For the length of our stay here, you all made us feel at home and comfortable.

It’s a blessing to meet different people going through similar situations and having to know that you are not alone. Thank you staff for all of your love and support. You all are definitely right for this job. May God bless all of you always.

You may not know it but you are all angels in disguise.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!

All of our love,

The Siguenza’s

“It is hard to put into words how strongly I feel abut how we were taken care of. My son, being so incredibly sick, so far from home and I was scared, not knowing what to expect. Being able to stay here at the Fisher House allowed me to focus on his well being. I did not have to put any energy into where I was going to stay, would it be safe (?), clean (?). Where am i going to eat(?) can I afford it (?). So many things could just put to rest and focus on my son. Everyone at Fisher House was so wonderful , always listening when I needed to talk and not talking when I needed silence. Such an amazing place. I will never forget the kindness we received. Thank you.”

Susie and family

“When we received the scary diagnosis of cancer for my father-in-law we had no idea what to do or where to start. Having to leave Alaska to receive treatment we had no place to stay during his surgery  or recovery. Thankfully we were given the contact information for the Fisher House. The kindness and support we have received has been overwhelming. Without the help we were given it would have been impossible for me to come provide him with the assistance he needed during his recovery. We will be forever grateful for the Fisher House.”

The Piechocki Family

On Sunday, November 28^th, 2010, after a wonderful vacation in Orlando, FL with our youngest daughter, Amanda and her husband Scott and children Kaylee(4) and Benjamin(1 1/2), we arrived home around 2:00. We were busy unpacking and catching up with some of our house stuff when we received a call about our son, Daniel, who is in the navy, based at Whidbey Island. He was supposed to be deployed on the Carl Vincent, but the news we got from this phone call was nothing that we were prepared for. Around 4:30, a doctor at the base hospital called to tell us that our son was unresponsive, unconscious, and had been intubated. It was unknown what had happened to him and no one knew how long he had been in that condition. We were then notified that the hospital there was not equipped to help him, and he was going to be flown by helicopter to Madigan Army Medical Center, and things did not look good. The chaplain told us we should probably come out and that the Navy would probably reimburse our ticket purchase. We were stunned, heartbroken, devastated, in shock and started the process of trying to get plane tickets as quickly as possible. We also had our other three children come to the house so that we could give them the news in-person, not over the phone. We also called a few friends and some church family. Words can never describe the feelings our family felt when we got the news.

By 7:00, we had a living room full of caring family and friends who came to pray and show their love. God’s love wrapped around our family and he started to encourage us with these people who reminded us that God is good and loves us and sustains us even in horrible, sad, scary times. We live in Colonial Heights, VA and just having to wait until 5:15 the next day to leave on a flight from Richmond seemed like eons. We were updated when Dan arrived at Madigan and things still seemed dismal. We had a little of what had happened revealed but in bits and pieces and there were some questions as to whether a drug or medication was involved in his unconsciousness. His lungs had tubes in them and a machine was breathing for him. He had not gained consciousness and they (the doctors) were concerned that he may have been without oxygen and it may have affected his brain. They said he did not have swelling in his brain.

Our daughter took us to the airport on Monday morning on November 29^th. All along this journey, we could see God’s hand guarding us and helping us through this very hard time. We have credit cards so we could buy the expensive tickets to make the trip out here. Delta helped us with getting seats next to each other and during our lay over; they got us to the next gate and let us board right away. The agents were all very caring and understanding.

The doctor who called us from ICU at Madigan kept us updated and told us about the Fisher House and said she would check to see if they could line us up a place to stay. They told us it was very nice, close to the hospital, and best of all, they wouldn’t charge us. We didn’t really think as far as where we would stay, we just wanted to be here to see our son and be with him. We figured that if we didn’t get to stay at the Fisher House, we would just have to find a close hotel.

God has placed so many blessings in place for us that we have just been blown away. Only God could supply us so abundantly with all that we have received. God and his many earthly angels have really blessed us.

The doctors and nurses in the ICU West contacted the Fisher house on our behalf and made all of the arrangements. When we arrived at the hospital, we were expecting the worse. We thought our son would be dead or would be a vegetable. When we entered his room, the doctors, nurses, and specialists were standing around his bed and we both thought it was because he was having a major problem. Actually, they has put him on his first “sedative holiday” to see if he would regain consciousness. As we entered his room, we immediately saw him barely open his eyes but he saw us and we could see that he recognized us!! It was one of the best days of our lives. We thought he was gone. On Tuesday, he was regaining consciousness with every “sedative holiday” and doing continually better. We were amazed at the major care he was given. All of the doctors and nurses were very caring and patient with us and explained everything so clearly and allowed us to ask questions. I have never seen such a well run ICU in all my 54 years. Daniel had at least one person in his room, caring for him continually the whole time he was in the ICU. The first nurse treated us so well that I felt like she knew exactly what Daniel needed as well as my husband and me too. He improved enough to move out of ICU on Thursday afternoon and had a pretty rough transition and a rough night by himself. We decided that one of us should stay with him at night.

Our daughter (23 years old) left her 2 young children with her husband Scott and flew out from VA on Friday. Friends from our church helped him out. I just want to say right here that the Fisher House has helped us keep the calm in our not so calm nightmare. Every night we came home to the Fisher House and crashed. What a blessing it has been to just drive a mile or two after some really hard, long days to sit down for a minute and regroup in such a comfortable, quiet setting. I told Mark that it’s almost like staying at my mom and dad’s.

Dan is off of oxygen as of now and is waiting for his lungs to heal and the holes to close. We are hoping that he will get one of the 3 chest tubes out tomorrow and the 2 right chest tubes water-sealed. God has heard many prayers all over the world, and we have truly witnessed a miracle in that he has improved as quickly and thoroughly. We are all (his total family) so humbled at the love and kindness that we have been shown by this wonderful house and all of the workers and volunteers. We are touched and want to be a part of delivering the same love and kindness and plan to check with the Fisher House near us in Richmond, VA to see how we can get involved there. We also are so thankful for all the great medical care that our son has received.

Today, December 7^th, we got some more good news. After finding out my 96 year old grand mom, who had found out she had pancreatic cancer on November 1^st, her 96^th birthday, finished her journey to heaven, we needed some encouraging news. Grand mom Moretz will truly be missed. She is one of my most favorite people and has encouraged many people. We know she is now in a place where there is not pain or sadness, and she will see all of her family who has preceded her, but most importantly, she will be with God forever.

Back to the awesome news. Dan got both right tubes out of his chest tonight and if his x-rays are good tonight and tomorrow morning, he may be released from the hospital. Yeah! Thank you Jesus for hearing our prayers and letting Dan stay with us longer.

THANK YOU FISHER HOUSE FOR BEING SUCH A BLESSING IN SUCH A TIME OF NEED. WE LOVE YOU ALL! – Mark & Janice Selmer, & Dan too!!

Dear Fisher House,

Thank you for letting us stay here and visit our Daddy. It has been a long time since he went to war in Afghanistan and was hurt really bad. Thank you for the toys, pillows, blankets, and food and coloring books. We really like playing on the toys outside and in the living room. Brooklynn loved watching “Elmo goes to the doctor”. Sydney loved the homemade brownies and Cole loves the kid size bathtub in the bathroom. We love our Daddy and miss him so much. Thank you.

The Houghland Family