Couple Finds Strength from Fellow Veteran Families

Story by Michelle Baldanza Photos provided by the Truett Family

Army Lt. Col. Terry Truett was a Black Hawk pilot who retired from the 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade at Fort Bragg, North Carolina in 2010 after 22 years of service. Just five years into his retirement, he found a swollen lymph node on his collar bone that was diagnosed a non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. After extensive rounds of chemotherapy and radiation treatments, the cancer was gone. However, 18 months later, a new spot was found on Terry's back. After treatment, he once again was cleared as cancer-free, but in December 2017 the cancer returned for a third time.

At this point, the only option was for Terry to undergo a stem cell transplant and the closest location was at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Hollings Cancer Center in Charleston, South Carolina, located two and half hours away from the Truett home. They knew they would need to find lodging in the area. The intense treatment required that they be within 10 minutes of the hospital for at least 30 days post-transplant, so Terry and his wife, Rebecca, began searching for a place to stay in Charleston.

“I called [Fisher House Charleston] and Vicky answered the phone, and she was just like, ‘Absolutely. We can help you. Absolutely.’ She told me we have room for you and don't worry about a thing. We’ve got it all covered,” Rebecca said.

“My husband's talking in the background saying, you know, tell them this, and tell them that his cancer is back again for a third time, and basically trying to give me pointers about the things that would help strengthen our case, but I had tears in my eyes. I couldn't even look at him while on the phone with her and she took everything down and I hung up. He said, ‘what did they say?’ And I looked at him, I said, 'It's all taken care of, everything's taken care of.’ And he and I both sat there and cried because it was such a burden lifted off of us,” she continued.

Rebecca explained that everything from the cleanliness of the house to the availability of snacks and coffee any time of the day meant so much. The staff members were like family, always there with a smile or to help no matter what time of day. That small gesture would mean the world to Rebecca after a long day spent at the hospital or in doctor's appointments.

“All the little things just at your fingertips is just such a huge blessing,” she said.

“And in addition to that, all the people who are going through treatment that are there are in some way, shape, or form either veterans themselves or married to veterans and/or have a veteran family member,” Rebecca said.

“Military families are such a tight-knit crew. We have a lifetime of supporting each other through deployments, hardships, joys, and everything that comes along with serving, so we know what that support means to our loved ones. And we're a strong bunch, but it's different — people don't really understand the military life unless you've lived it. You're there with your brothers and sisters, you have a kinship with them, and we all just kind of support each other.”

Rebecca recalls one of the best parts of their stay was that Terry was able to talk to other veterans who were going through similar situations or medical issues, saying that it really lends strength to the healing process.

“Just knowing that there were other people with similar backgrounds who were also facing battles, that they were in that together,” she said. “Truly a family of people that you get to know, praying for each other's children and their spouses.

“We celebrated together, we grieved together. It was just a real place of comfort to be when going through such a challenge in life. So, we were really blessed by that,” Rebecca said.

Fisher House Charleston had only just opened when Terry needed to go through the stem cell treatment. They both felt that without the Fisher House things could have been very different.

“I just can't even imagine what the outcome would have been. It just really made so much of a difference in how he recovered and how his treatment went to have the Fisher House right there within walking distance to the hospital."

It's been three years since, and Terry is currently cancer-free and doing well. The Truetts are still in touch with Vicky, who now serves at the Columbia VA Health Care System, and they visit Fisher House whenever they are in Charleston.