For more than a year, Ericka Hewitt has been staying at Fisher Houses. Her first stay began in May of 2023 when her son Skyler was in a terrible motorcycle accident near Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico where he was stationed as a senior airman responsible for C-130 special mission aircraft maintenance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Skyler joined the Air Force in October 2020 after being inspired by his grandfather, an Army veteran. He had a busy start to his career, supporting a mission for refugees from Afghanistan. \u201cOn April 29th, I got the call that pretty much every parent kind of fears,\u201d said Ericka.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On April 28, he completed the motorcycle safety course. He chose not to ride that day because of the weather, but the following day was beautiful, sunny, and clear. On his very first ride, the worst happened when a car suddenly turned in front of him at an intersection and he crashed into it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ericka, in Colorado Springs at the time, received a crash alert from Skyler\u2019s iPhone but didn\u2019t have any other information. She and her family began calling hospitals until they found him at the University of New Mexico Hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSkyler had multiple traumatic brain injuries, other sustaining injuries. They weren\u2019t sure if he was going to make it, so I grabbed the keys, got in the car and I drove with nothing. I just drove down to New Mexico,\u201d she explained. \u201cIt seemed like it was two seconds. You just don\u2019t think about, you don\u2019t think about what you\u2019re going to do or where you\u2019re going to stay because it doesn\u2019t matter. I don\u2019t care about any of that stuff. I just wanted to get to him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During the drive, she received more information from the hospital and was distraught. Her husband Mike helped her get through it on the phone. \u201cHe didn\u2019t want me driving while I was upset, he wanted me to be safe which reminded me I have a job to do and I was able to pull myself together and focus on the mission,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Initially, Skyler\u2019s vitals crashed constantly, and doctors performed numerous surgeries to keep him going for the first few weeks. Ericka spent almost all of the time with her son, not leaving his room. Mike followed her and stayed by her side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Mike and Ericka debated whether he should stay with her or go back to Colorado to care for Skyler\u2019s stepbrother.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhere were we going to stay? I really didn\u2019t know what we would do, because, ultimately, I left my job. Both my husband and I left our careers to be bedside for Skyler, and we still have mortgage to pay. We still have a household keep up. Life is still happening,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She had decided she would just live in her car, because \u201cnot being with Skyler wasn\u2019t an option.\u201d Then someone connected the family with Fisher House, but they described it as \u201cmilitary housing.\u201d. Ericka was skeptical it would be better than sleeping in her car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But she changed her mind as soon as she entered the New Mexico VA Fisher House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what we would have done without the Fisher House, because the Fisher House has been not just a place to go to sleep, but it\u2019s been like a home. It\u2019s so beautiful. And having literally a home to go back to, and everyone here is so wonderful and making us meals and being a shoulder to cry on, and you feel like you have family here and friends, too.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Since the accident, Skyler has been moved twice, once to Denver, Colorado, and then to San Antonio, Texas where she also stayed at the VA Fisher House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
From the very beginning, the support of Ericka\u2019s family was critical. Numerous family members have come to be with Ericka and support Skyler, but her sister, Lisa, has stayed with Ericka since the accident happened. She stays in the Fisher House for two weeks at a time and then returns home for a week. During that time, Ericka\u2019s husband Mike takes her place. Lisa and Mike are not only there to support Skyler, but they are there for Ericka as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m good at taking care of Skyler, but I\u2019m not really great about taking care of myself. Fisher House is wonderful for that,\u201d said Ericka. \u201cMy sister is here to make sure that I\u2019m also being taken care of so that I can take care of Skyler.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShe has been an integral part of our journey here and the Fisher House welcoming her to stay here with me as well, so that we can both take care of Skyler, support Skyler, but also so that she can take care of me,\u201d Ericka continued. \u201cFisher House opening up their doors to both of us and to my husband is a blessing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lisa couldn\u2019t agree more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt means everything to be able to be here just for Ericka, but to be able to support Skyler and to have a safe place,\u201d said Lisa. \u201cIt\u2019s a huge thing to know that she\u2019s safe when I leave. She\u2019s taken care of, there are people watching out for her.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ericka shared that having routine has helped her deal with the stress of her son\u2019s recovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo my routine cleaning is peacefulness to me. The biggest one is laundry. And it just brings me so much joy,\u201d she laughed. \u201cI meticulously separate my clothes, and I get to come down here and there\u2019s these beautiful washer and dryers, and they even have the detergent and all the little things you can need. And it\u2019s come down here and do laundry. It\u2019s like a thing that\u2019s normal. It makes it feel like a home. Getting to come home and do your own laundry, not having to worry about going to a laundromat. It\u2019s the thing that lets you take a minute and say, \u2018Okay, I\u2019m doing the normal thing. I\u2019m doing the laundry.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ericka also enjoys her cereal in the morning, and Mike loves having a cup of coffee and a banana. Lisa also feels that having healthy food is important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re constantly getting fast food, you can\u2019t best support the person that you\u2019re trying to support here if you\u2019re not healthy yourself, and this keeps her healthy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After several months in Fisher Houses, Ericka has made many friends. She fondly recalls another mother whose son was also in a motorcycle accident and how important it was to be able to talk to someone going through a similar situation. She often walks back and forth to the polytrauma unit with another guest whose granddaughter was also a patient there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAnd she is so dang sweet and precious, and she was making a strawberry cobbler,\u201d said Ericka. \u201cHow wonderful that we have this kitchen to be able to use again, coming home to a home. It smelled so good.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ericka feels that with a lot of the families being able to share the military experience and helping each other makes a huge difference. \u201cWe\u2019re all at different stages and being able to help each other through that has been invaluable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Skyler has been medically retired from the Air Force. He is in a disorder of consciousness and is still considered on the coma scale, but he has come a long way. His accident caused multiple types of traumatic brain injuries, cardiac arrest, multiple broken bones, and internal trauma, amongst other issues. Despite all of this, there is hope that he will return home to Colorado soon. Ericka will continue to be there for her son, and she credits her family and Fisher House with giving her strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNobody here judges you, and without hesitation, everybody who is part of the Fisher House has put their hand on my back and said, \u2018Don\u2019t worry about it. We got you. You got him, and we got you.\u2019 And to take that burden off of us, it\u2019s been so much more than just a bed to sleep in. It\u2019s been a home and family and friendship and emotional support therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":108470,"menu_order":0,"template":"single-native-legacy","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"15"},"advertiser":[3453],"class_list":["post-75529","native","type-native","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","advertiser-fisher-house-foundation"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"32JFKGFCU5HXFLZUKEHKSKWDKQ","arc_canonical_url":"\/native\/fisher-house-foundation\/2024\/10\/01\/caregiver-finds-support-at-fisher-house\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"native-layout","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n