Fisher House founders sketched cartoon

Fisher House founders sketched cartoon

Nemitz and her husband, Petty Officer Bret Nemitz, spent Thanksgiving at Fisher House Alaska as they waited for the best gift to arrive: a baby girl. The family is stationed at U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mustang in Seward, Alaska, but because of a lack of local medical facilities and the difficulties of a three-hour drive to the nearest hospital, they were sent to Anchorage a month before their baby was due. They arrived in November 2020, and their baby, Penny, was born on December 21. The family was home by Christmas and was blessed with several parting gifts from Fisher House.

During the wait, the couple volunteered to clean, take out the trash, and help with general household chores.

“We were happy to help while we waited for Penny. Staying at Fisher House meant so much to Bret and me,” said Karla. “Being so close to the hospital meant we didn’t have to worry about how we were going to get there and instead could focus on our family.”

Karla, a gifted illustrator, was inspired by the story of Zachary and Elizabeth Fisher and sketched a cartoon of the Fisher House founders.

To see more of Karla’s work, follow her on Instagram art.by.karla or on Facebook at Art by Karla.