As a machinery technician in the Coast Guard, William Hamilton III spent nine years making sure the boat got to those who needed saving. But when it came time for his own emergency, he had a hard time believing it.
“I knew what was up,” he says, “but I was being hardheaded.”
He’d spent the evening at a Coast Guard gathering in Valdez, Alaska where he was feeling a little off, chalking it up to a bug he figured a nap could fix. When he woke and started for the stairs with his 6-month-old son in his arms, his left side simply stopped answering.
“My fear was dropping my son down the stairs that day when everything was going wrong,” William said. “I was afraid I would never be able to pick him up again.”
Emmeline was away on drill when the call came, an ordinary day interrupted without warning. Her husband was on the phone telling her he’d had a stroke as she told herself the emotions would have to wait. “I had to instantly shut down the emotional part and just start getting into logistics,” she said. It was more than one person should have to carry alone, and she was about to find out she didn’t have to.
Fisher House gave the Hamiltons a place to stay in Anchorage for the weeks William needed to recover. The alternative was driving five to six hours back to Valdez, through some of the most remote country in Alaska. “There are stretches on that drive where you lose signal completely,” William said. “You could be stuck for two hours with no signal. I didn’t want her in an emergency situation out there.” Staying in Anchorage meant he had the right resources he needed with occupational therapy, physical therapy, and his family by his side every step of the way.
“It’s not like you’re going to a resort and you drop your bags and go,” William said. “We could come there, we could breathe, we could relax, and just focus on us as a family. That’s the main part about Fisher House — it’s about family. Fisher House is family.”
Theresa Nedrow is part of why it feels that way. She’s the manager at the Alaska Fisher House, and she keeps track of who’s arriving, so gifts and blankets are already waiting on the kids’ beds before the Hamiltons even walk through the door. “She always runs out to give us a hug,” William says. “She’s like sunshine.”
In that hospital bed, William made himself a promise. “I made it a personal goal to be able to pick my boy up,” he said. “And to fight back as hard as I can to at least be a part of his life.” He looked over towards his family and took a deep breath before holding his head high and proud. “That’s what I’ve done. He’s going to know that his dad is there for him no matter what.”
