Charmain Z. Brackett Staff Sgt. Luis Elias and his wife, Claudia, speak about how much the Fisher House meant to them during Elias’ five months of treatment at Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center during a groundbreaking ceremony held Dec. 9 for a new Fisher House to open at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center. When Staff Sgt. Luis Elias was injured at the end of June at Fort Benning, Ga. and brought to Fort Gordon for medical care, his wife, Claudia, and their son were close behind.

“Family support is vital to recovery. Having my family close to me was important. It made me stronger each and every day,” said Elias at the groundbreaking ceremony for a new 21-room Fisher House on the grounds of the uptown Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center on Dec. 9.

“Home is what the Fisher House has been for the past five months,” said Elias of the Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center Fisher House.

There are currently 43 Fisher Houses on military installations or at VA Medical Centers, according to Kenneth Fisher, chairman of the Fisher House Foundation, who was on hand for the groundbreaking ceremony, which was moved into the hospital’s gymnasium because of heavy rains. An additional 21 homes will be completed by 2011.

“This house joins six presently under construction and nine more scheduled to begin soon. It’s our most aggressive expansion ever,” said Fisher.

While the Fisher House Foundation supplies some of the funding for the project, the Augusta community raised more than $1.8 million over the past two years. Nearly 800 donors are on the roll of contributors, said committee member retired Lt. Col. Cone Underwood.

“They were corporation and individuals to school children living in challenging economic conditions. Donations ranged from less than $5 to $250,000,” he said.

Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Foley, Fort Gordon commanding general and chief of Signal, said such generosity is inherent in the Augusta community.

“It’s just another wonderful example of how the CSRA cares about those who serve. They continue to reach out and touch,” he said.

Because of specialized care through the Active Duty Rehabilitation Unit, the Blind Rehabilitation Unit and the Spinal Cord Rehabilitation, there are many long-term patients at the Charlie Norwood VA Medical Center.

“It’s so important to have this new addition,” said Lawrence Biro, director of the VA Southeast Network.