SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — In late June, Navy Veteran Roy Fulps found himself on a cross-country journey for life-saving surgery to repair an abdominal aortic anueresym. While the surgery was covered by his VA benefits, his travel and other costs had to be covered out of his own pocket.
"For us at Easterseals, the request was, 'Can we help with transportation?'" said Scott Robinson with Easterseals Military and Veteran Services of Greater Cincinnati. "We stepped in and said, 'We will buy those tickets on the spot to get you to the surgery.'"
The surgery was miles away in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Roy's son came along as his medical attendant and they needed to stay for up to 30 days for Roy's recovery. That meant a hotel and meals for the duration of their trip, and the money needed to make it back home to Kentucky.
Soon, Roy's story hit the radar of the Disabled American Veterans Chapter One in Sioux Falls.
"When we heard about Roy being at Sanford, he was already there, so we had a very quick timeline and an immediate response to come up with," said Kim Hubers, Junior Vice Commander of DAV Chapter One.
She said the board members voted to support Roy in a couple ways.
"We ended up donating about $1,800 to Roy and his family," she said. "And we also have a vehicle that our chapter owns that we gave to them while they were here for transportation."
She said it's the mission of the DAV to support veterans and one she calls a success in the case of Roy Fulps.
"To be able to be there and offer that support is priceless," Hubers said. "We help all veterans. Lifelong support regardless of what the need is if there's something we can do, if we get the phone call, we're there for them and their families.
In addition to the support of DAV members in Sioux Falls, Roy Fulps received additional support from WCPO 9 viewers who donated to an account Easterseals set up to raise money in support of covering his costs. With their help Easterseals raised over $2,000 to help with that effort.
Roy is currently resting at home and continuing with his recovery.
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