LEXINGTON, Ky. — Construction is underway on a new facility at the Lexington VA Medical Center.
It’s a Fisher House, a place where veterans and their families can stay free while their loved ones receive care.
Across the nation, there are 90 such houses.
Rick and Nancy Pounds say the Fisher House is needed and will benefit many veterans and families in the central Kentucky area.
“They met on the track team at the Air Force Academy,” Nancy said, describing her daughter- and son-in-laws relationship. “She threw the javelin and he threw the discus.”
The Pounds display their daughter’s engagement picture taken at Keeneland. Dana and David both served in the U.S. Air Force. Capt. David Lyon was killed in a car-bomb explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2013. (Spectrum News 1/Khyati Patel)
In Dec. 2013, a car-bomb explosion in Kabul, Afghanistan, killed their son-in-law, Captain David Lyon.
“When you get that call, it’ll never be the same. But it doesn’t mean it’s all over. It means to walk through and persevere and continue to love people and receive their love,” Nancy said.
The couple immediately wanted to be with their daughter, Dana, overseas at the time and en route to Dover Air Force Base.
Simultaneously, the Department of Defense coordinated the couple’s travel from Lexington to the Fisher House in Delaware.
“It was incredibly frustrating for a dad, especially who has a desire, as I guess most dads, to fix things when they’re upset, when there’s a problem and though she never used the words, ‘Daddy fix this,’” Rick said. “But when she called to tell us what was going on she was really saying, ‘Daddy, can you fix this?’ Couldn’t fix it.”
They arrived at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to find amenities at the Fisher house, without having to think about lodging.
“I’m in a fog while I’m there. {I} Started to do better because of the folks at the Fisher House,” Rick said. “But those floodgates opened again when she got there because at that point, it was real. Wasn’t a nightmare, wasn’t a bad dream. It was real, and we just had to begin to face the challenges and move forward.”
The Dover Fisher House is dedicated to veterans and families of the fallen.
“So, being in that unique Fisher House because it was unique to that base, they were well prepared to serve the needs of people whose hearts have just been ripped out,” Rick said.
The Pounds support the opening of the Fisher House in Lexington.
“Even for the folks who’ll be coming and using the Lexington Fisher House, even if they’ve got the means to pay, it just clears their mind to help focus on their loved one healing,” Rick said.
It will provide veterans’ families a home environment while receiving treatment at the Lexington VA Medical Center.
“It was a spectacular experience, one that we wish we never had. But under the circumstances, they made it incredibly tolerable,” Rick said.
The 13,400 square foot house will feature 16 private suites with a common kitchen, dining, and living area. Lexington’s Fisher House should be completed by the end of the year.