Story by Christy Wilcox
Photos by Christy Wilcox and courtesy of Dr. Kenneth Lee

A short walk away from the Milwaukee Fisher House, a banner hangs outside the Clement Zablocki VA Medical Center that reads, “Heroes Live Here. An American flag hangs on the exterior of the VA building, where the third floor hosts a large room full of equipment helping a particular group of patients—veterans with spinal cord injuries. Dr. Kenneth Lee, the head of the Chief of Spubak Cord Injury Division at the Milwaukee Veterans Administration Medical Center, says Fisher House plays an essential role in veteran care.

“When it comes to taking care of the spinal cord veterans it’s about getting them doing activities. And when it comes to people in a wheelchair, one of the biggest challenges they have is staying active”.

Inside the hospital, a long hallway leads to an atypical equipment room with various recumbent trikes for veterans who have lost mobility. Dr. Lee gets his hands dirty, greasing a chain on one trike. He smiles as he holds up his greasy hands and says, “The price we pay to take care of veterans.” He says he rides about 20 miles a day. As a combat veteran and primary provider in his household, Dr. Lee knows how difficult it is to recover from severe combat injury.

“I wish more people knew about the Fisher House and not find out the way I did, which is, you know, you got hit with something, and then Fisher House showed up,” Dr. Lee said.

Milwaukee Fisher House Manager, Jennifer Keifer, recognizes how helpful it is to have Dr. Lee as head of SCI.

“He’s a huge advocate for our Fisher House so even doing outreach there, I know that he knows firsthand what it is like for these families and how blessed they are to be so close.”

In college. Dr. Lee’s father, who served in Korea, asked him to find a path to civil service. As a result, he joined the Illinois Army National Guard, which was a life-altering decision. When Dr. Lee entered medical school, he was commissioned as an officer. His career started as the Division Chief of Spinal Cord Injury (SCI), but he left after receiving activation orders to Iraq.

On April 12, 2004, his unit ran medical samples to Baghdad’s Green Zone when an infantry unit stopped them because of a roadside bomb.

“Usually, I actually turn back it find another route to get to my destination, but in this particular case, I decided to stay and augment the security team,” Dr. Lee said.

A suicide bomber in a vehicle approached his unit and detonated a bomb, severely injuring several soldiers, including Dr. Lee. A crew medevaced him to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. Later, he spent four months at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. When Dr. Lee talks about his numerous surgeries and months of rehabilitation, the focus of his concern is not his recovery.

“You know most of us who are injured and, recovering, yes, we care about our body and what’s happening… but when I heard my wife is coming, all that didn’t matter,” Dr. Lee said. “The most important thing was is somebody going to take care of her.”

The Army National Guard brought his wife to Washington, D.C., and he wanted reassurance that she had a place to stay. When he brought this to the attention of hospital staff, they told him Fisher House provided a room for her.

“I’m like Fisher House; what the heck is a Fisher House, you know?”

At Walter Reed Army Medical Center, he was scared to see his wife and children because of the sanitary look and feel of the hospital. They were about to see him in the worst condition of his life. He said Fisher House changed that dynamic by allowing them to see each other in a home-like setting. Later in his recovery, he got to visit them, too. At Fisher House, he says his kids were joyous while his wife cried with relief.

Jennifer says that VA patients are sometimes skeptical about getting an offer to stay in a government-run facility. They invite those guests to see the house in person, which offers a fresh perspective. When veterans stay over before treatment, she says it gives them peace of mind knowing their loved one is safe.

“They’re not just staying in a hotel and worrying about checkout times or check-in times or finances. They literally can come here and go to bed at night with very little to worry about as far as their stay.”

Through his experience, he sees Fisher House as essential to service members. The VA in Milwaukee, for example, serves nearly 400 spinal cord-injured veterans. These types of patients often have a lot of equipment. Not just wheelchairs, but other necessities that may not fit in a hotel room, or they may travel with a caregiver.

“Many of our guys that travel cannot just come in and then go home. There’s a lot of travel needs, especially high tetraplegic patients who are a hundred percent dependent on somebody to even transfer them in and out of a vehicle”.

“In the past, before Fisher House, we tried to find the cheapest motel so they could stay, so they didn’t incur a huge financial burden. After the Fisher house, that problem has been gone.”

He says leaving his unit in the military was a difficult decision, but the journey after his injury has also helped him heal.

“Anybody that helped me during that time, I love them for that. But anyone who helps my spouse, wife, and loved ones—they take up a notch, and that’s where the Fisher House made an impression on me. I am grateful for Fisher House.” ❤️

This article first appeared in The Patriot, the Fisher House Foundation semiannual magazine, and was reprinted with the author’s permission.

Dr. Kenneth Lee was a patient in Washington, D.C., when he first learned about Fisher House. His wife was with him, supporting his recovery from an attack by a suicide bomber, and he wanted to make sure she had somewhere safe to stay. Now, he makes sure his patients know about Fisher House and that their families are able to stay there.