GUESTS AT THE FISHER HOUSE...

The Stovall Family’s journey

June, 19, 2022 was the day that Janet Stovall received the call that her son Ryan had been in a very serious motorcycle accident near Fort Bragg, NC. Ryan, who is a Special Forces Officer in the U.S. Army and father of a 16 year old daughter, Zoe, was severely injured and unresponsive at the scene. He was taken to a local hospital first, before being moved to Greenville, NC. Due to his extensive injuries, Ryan was kept in an induced coma for 6 weeks after the initial surgery. After 6 weeks he was transported to the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, TX for further treatment. During this difficult time, The Green Beret Foundation paid for a hotel for Ryan’s family, who lives in Louisiana, so they could stay close to their son.

While talking to Ryan’s caseworker at the BAMC hospital, Ms. Stovall found out about the Fisher House and how they would be able to help her family during a time of need. At that time she did not know there was a Fisher House right across from the hospital where her son was receiving care. They moved out of the hotel and into the BAMC Fisher House that same day. Being able to be close to her son while he was going through endless treatment and multiple surgeries has been a blessing for the Stovall family. Ms. Stovall said, “I never heard about Fisher House before, but can’t express enough how grateful I am. The Fisher House takes a little load of the pain and provides a comfort space for the guests that stay here. Fisher House friends truly become family.”

After staying at the BAMC Fisher House for about 4 days, Ryan went to the Politrauma unit at the Audie L. Murphy VA Medical Center in San Antonio, TX. The South Texas VA Fisher House would be their home-away-from home for the next six months while Ryan was receiving medical treatment at the hospital. Besides the support from his family, Ryan has had the tremendous support of his Special Forces unit. A group of his comrades would fly out once a month to visit him at the hospital in San Antonio and organized a fundraiser marathon in his honor.

Ms. Stovall was the guest speaker at the Fisher House, Inc. Golf Tournament fundraiser and shared her son’s story, and what Fisher House means to her and her family. She said: “I was very nervous and thought I would be speaking in front of 20 people, when in reality it was close to 200 people. But in that moment it felt like 2000!” Even though she was very nervous, no one in the audience could tell and was moved by her story and son’s difficult journey. “I really don’t know how I could have done this journey without our San Antonio family...I count my blessings daily,” she added.

The Stovall family has since moved back to the BAMC Fisher House were they will be staying until their son will be able to go home. With 16 surgeries done and multiple to go, Ryan’s fight is not over yet, but everyday is one step closer to recovery.