Bill Fairchild and Ed Boyd served together in Viet Nam and became best friends.  But after returning home the two soldiers lost touch.   Years later they were reunited; in a hospital room on adjoining striker tables.  Both men were.being treated for spinal cord injuries.   The two buddies were not the sort of men to be limited by the confines of a wheelchair.  Both avid sportsmen, they spent a lot of time together camping, hunting and fishing. Ed's wife Mary would say, "They may be men in wheelchairs but they're still men- they just have spare parts!"

When Ed suddenly died of a heart attack Mary was devastated.  "I'd lost my left arm," she says.   Bill and Mary worked through the shock together, consoling each other.   As Mary dealt with the stresses of being suddenly widowed with children still at home, Bill was there with support and encouragement.   As time went on, Bill and Mary realized that their long friendship was turning into something more and they eventually married.

New challenges arose for the family In 2001, when Bill suffered complications from a hip surgery.  Bill had to be treated at VA Puget Sound, hundreds of miles from home.    His first hospitalization lasted for 192 days.   Mary stayed in hotels "until the money ran out...which didn't take long" and then became what she calls "a parking lot queen", sleeping in her car and hoping she wouldn't get caught.   

"What could I do?" Mary asks.   "It was risky staying in my car.   I didn't like sneaking around.  But I couldn't leave my husband here alone".    Between 2001 and 2008 the family made ten to fifteen trips from Montana to Seattle, with each stay lasting between one to three months. 

By late 2008 the family was already in the midst of a stay that would total sixteen months.    But during that  time the Fisher House opened.   Mary remembers her reaction the first time she entered the house.  "I cried!  It was breathtaking!"    She was relieved to have a safe place to stay but quickly realized that  "Fisher House is more than just a warm bed.   I had no moral support during all the times I was here before.   But everybody here, we're all in the same boat.  We give each other support on good days and bad days".   Mary notes a special bond with other guests who, like her, have a spouse with a spinal cord injury.   "We understand each other".    

Even as she told her story Mary had to stop twice in order to exchange e-mail addresses with guests who were checking out.     "You see?" she adds.  "This is exactly what I'm talking about.  In this house, I'm not alone.  And because I can stay here, my husband isn't alone either.    The Veterans in the hospital need their family near them.  Fisher House makes that possible".

Mary Fairchild models one of the hats from the Management's boutique collection.