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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI knew what was up,\u201d he says, \u201cbut I was being hardheaded.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He\u2019d 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy fear was dropping my son down the stairs that day when everything was going wrong,\u201d William said. \u201cI was afraid I would never be able to pick him up again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Emmeline was away on drill when the call came, an ordinary day interrupted without warning. Her husband was on the phone telling her he\u2019d had a stroke as she told herself the emotions would have to wait. \u201cI had to instantly shut down the emotional part and just start getting into logistics,\u201d she said. It was more than one person should have to carry alone, and she was about to find out she didn\u2019t have to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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. \u201cThere are stretches on that drive where you lose signal completely,\u201d William said. \u201cYou could be stuck for two hours with no signal. I didn\u2019t want her in an emergency situation out there.\u201d 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.<\/p>\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s not like you\u2019re going to a resort and you drop your bags and go,\u201d William said. \u201cWe could come there, we could breathe, we could relax, and just focus on us as a family. That\u2019s the main part about Fisher House \u2014 it\u2019s about family. Fisher House is family.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Theresa Nedrow is part of why it feels that way. She\u2019s the manager at the Alaska Fisher House, and she keeps track of who\u2019s arriving, so gifts and blankets are already waiting on the kids\u2019 beds before the Hamiltons even walk through the door. \u201cShe always runs out to give us a hug,\u201d William says. \u201cShe\u2019s like sunshine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In that hospital bed, William made himself a promise. \u201cI made it a personal goal to be able to pick my boy up,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd to fight back as hard as I can to at least be a part of his life.\u201d He looked over towards his family and took a deep breath before holding his head high and proud. \u201cThat\u2019s what I\u2019ve done. He\u2019s going to know that his dad is there for him no matter what.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":112199,"menu_order":0,"template":"single-native-legacy","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"11"},"advertiser":[3453],"class_list":["post-76355","native","type-native","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","advertiser-fisher-house-foundation"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"U2U7JN7UVNHBJMMGWDGLG7Q57E","arc_canonical_url":"\/native\/fisher-house-foundation\/2026\/08\/01\/a-coast-guardsmans-fight-to-hold-his-son-again\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"native-layout","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"\n