Traveling halfway around the world for care is a daunting event, but that’s just what the Brice family of three had to do in April 2023.

The Brices were living in Grafenwoehr, Germany where Army Staff Sgt. William Brice was stationed as a cavalry scout. After noticing that their young daughter had unexplained bruises, William and his wife Annah sought medical advice. Three weeks later, a diagnosis was finally given – 5-year-old Adela had aplastic anemia. Because it was an extremely dangerous form of anemia, she was admitted to a German hospital and then to a cancer center to receive treatment similar to what leukemia patients receive. When she was well enough to travel, her care was transferred to Madigan Army Medical Center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Tacoma, Washington.

After a short stay in a hotel, they moved into the JBLM Army Fisher House. Luckily, Annah knew about Fisher House because she had stayed at the Landstuhl Army Fisher House in Landstuhl, Germany after a surgery.

“At Landstuhl, I had surgery there, and, wow. They offered me Fisher House, and it was the best experience,” she said. “It was mind blowing, and I know things are different, especially whenever children are involved, but we were welcomed with open arms.”

At first, Adela was in the hospital until her immune system was strong enough for her to stay at Fisher House with her mom and dad. Because of her medication schedule, Annah and Adela were up early in the mornings for medication at 8 am and stayed up late to take her final medication at midnight. But, once her immune system was a little bit stronger, Annah needed to find ways to keep her very energetic daughter entertained between taking her meds.

“She’s an active kiddo. That’s for sure!” exclaimed Annah.

Thanks to donations of tickets to local attractions, Annah and Adela visited the zoo and the beach and explored Seattle. They also did crafts and worked in the Fisher House garden. One of Adela’s favorite things to do was to pretend she was on stage in the sitting room by standing behind the drapes until the make-believe stage curtain was opened.

William was only able to stay for a few weeks before having to return to Germany, so for much of the time, Annah and Adela were at the Fisher House without him.

“While I was in Germany, the Fisher House was the best place for my family. They were right next door to the hospital if they needed anything and right next door to the store if they needed anything also,” he explained. “Fisher House provided the food, there was a bus route, and there was also a taxi service. It provided everything that they needed. I felt very safe and secure having them there at Fisher House.”

Throughout the stay, Annah became close to other guests and formed bonds around the shared purpose of caring for loved ones.

“We showed up and then I became really close with Leslie. She’s awesome. Basically, all the guests I’ve become close with. It’s all one big family cooking together and stuff,” said Annah. “On one of the first nights, when there were a lot of guests, we were all inside the kitchen cooking, and we were all laughing. Everyone that was in the house was in the one room. It was fun. It was a fun time.”

“Fisher House meant everything to us,” she reiterated. “Being able to just focus on our daughter 100%.”