Army veteran finds comfort at new Fisher House during his wife’s stay at Lovell FHCC

Army veteran Dean Biddle first heard about the new Fisher House via a sticky note passed to him by the nurse the night he took his wife, Vivian Biddle, to the Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center emergency department with complications from pneumonia and Parkinson’s.

But soon after Vivian Biddle’s admission to the Medical-Surgical floor later that night, he was contacted by a social worker — a social worker who was excited to talk about the Fisher House because she had just toured it the day before and learned who, and what, it is for.

“Irene, the social worker, said ‘I have a room for you, and it’s free!’’ he recalled, as he told the story sitting in the Medical-Surgical floor waiting room several days into his wife’s stay. “She told me to call Kim Skorupa, the Fisher House manager.”

Once Skorupa and Dean Biddle talked, the wheels were in motion for the Lovell FHCC Fisher House’s very first guest to check in.

“The social worker was excited, Kim was excited, everyone was excited,” he said. “Just hearing everyone’s excitement was really giving me peace of mind, that things would work out.”

The Lovell FHCC Fisher House opened in August of this year, officially the 100th one in the Fisher House Foundation international network and only the second one in Illinois. The other Illinois Fisher House is located at the Edward Hines Jr. VA Medical Center.

“I had heard about Fisher Houses in general, but it was not even in my thoughts when I came here,” Dean Biddle said.

Fisher Houses are “comfort homes” where military and veteran families can stay free of charge, while a loved one is in the hospital. The homes are based at military facilities and VA medical centers around the world. The Lovell FHCC Fisher House is the only integrated Fisher House, which means it serves military and veteran families in one home.

Each Fisher House has up to 21 private accessible suites, with private bedrooms and bathrooms. Families share a common kitchen, laundry facilities, dining room, and living rooms. The Lovell FHCC Fisher House has 16 suites.

“It’s much more than a room,” Dean Biddle said. He quickly learned the Fisher House is an entire support system, with only one goal — to make guests’ stay as comfortable as possible so they can focus all their energy on their loved one receiving care.

Family members who have to travel far from home, overnight, to be with their hospitalized family members are eligible. To stay in a Fisher House, the guest must live 50 miles or more or over two hours away from the hospital.

Dean and Vivian Biddle live about 60 miles away, near Rockford, Ill. Each time they come to the hospital, it’s a challenge to plan. For example, if Vivian Biddle’s appointments are early in the morning, sometimes it is better to just stay in the nearby Great Lakes Navy Lodge. But that costs money, there might not be a vacancy, and sometimes it’s unknown how long she’ll be hospitalized.

“I want to spend as much time as possible with my wife; she’s the love of my life,” Dean Biddle said, noting that he is his wife’s main caregiver. “I’m thankful I can do that. I was willing to sleep in the chair in the room to be with her. I don’t want to go too far.”

The couple met at Ft. Benning, Georgia, where Dean Biddle was training to be an airborne infantryman. They married three months later, and after 36 years together, they have four children, 12 grandchildren and another on the way. Vivian Biddle was diagnosed with Parkinson’s 15 years ago and has been a regular patient of Lovell FHCC since 2014.

“I didn’t want to take her to a local hospital because they don’t know her and her needs,” Dean Biddle said, recalling how serious his wife’s symptoms were the recent night they drove to Lovell FHCC. “She has had the same neurologist the entire time, and her other doctors are here, too.”

Lovell FHCC has served Vivian Biddle well, her husband said. “Everybody here, top to bottom, has been amazingly kind, courteous and understanding.”

The Fisher House is remarkable, Dean Biddle said. “I’m amazed at how beautiful it is, how well built it is from top to bottom. I’m amazed at all the amenities … a full kitchen, laundry, games, your own fridge space, and plenty of room to spread out.”

Most of his time was spent at Lovell FHCC, so Dean Biddle didn’t eat meals at the Fisher House, but he picked up a piece of fruit and a granola bar for breakfast on his way out in the mornings. He did do one load of laundry when he ran out of clean clothes.

He added that the home feels safe, secure, and “it’s very peaceful.”

Dean Biddle said he enjoyed learning the history behind Fisher Houses and the Fisher House Foundation from Skorupa.

Founder Zachary Fisher was a builder, philanthropist and patriot. He said, “I can do this,” after then Chief of Naval Operations Carlisle Trost called him in 1986, recounting his wife’s story about a family she saw exiting a helicopter with their luggage at the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda. Pauline Trost wondered where they would stay, knowing area hotels were expensive, and it would be burdensome for any family facing a medical crisis to find an affordable hotel.

According to the Fisher House Foundation website, Zachary and his wife, Elizabeth Fisher, then dedicated more than $20 million to the construction of comfort homes for families of hospitalized military personnel, “to stay free of charge in support of their loved ones when they needed it most.”

Dean Biddle said, “I’m amazed at their story. This couple never served in the military, and they figured out a way to help those who served … They had true kindness, compassion and motivation to do what it takes to help those in need.”

Dean Biddle served in the Gulf War 1990-91, and Operation Iraqi Freedom 2005-06, and after 20 years, retired from the Army in Alaska in 2007. He continued to work as a civilian contractor on base, and Vivian worked at the Child Development Center. After 13 years in Alaska, the couple moved to Illinois, and Dean worked for the post office until he retired to become Vivian’s full-time caregiver.

Dean Biddle said it was a relief to stay in the Fisher House. “It relieved my stress and anxiety,” he said. “It put me in more of an eased state. I don’t have to worry where I’m staying or how much it’s going to cost.”

The Fisher House is a place Dean Biddle wants to come to in the future. “It’s a place you look forward to coming to,” he said.

“To the next guest,” Dean Biddle wrote in the guest journal in his room at the Fisher House, “consider yourself blessed to be part of a special place that will support you from beginning to end — the Fisher House!”