By Lori Harrison, The Messenger Staff Writer
Reprinted with permission from The Messenger, Madisonville, Ky.
Soon, families may talk face-to-face with loved ones serving in two military camps in Iraq — without ever leaving Hopkins County.
"I can't stress enough how important this is to a family member and to a soldier," said Donna Ferrell of Madisonville, who spoke to her son, Army Spc. Nicholas Williams, via videoconference Dec. 18, during the University of Kentucky/University of Louisville basketball game.
The event marked the kickoff of the Kentucky Telehealth Network's participation in Freedom Calls.
The Freedom Calls Foundation provides networks and equipment that allow for wireless telephone and video conferencing in Camp Cooke, near the Baghdad airport, and Camp Fallujah.
The service will be offered locally by the Western Kentucky Telehealth Training Center at Trover Foundation in Madisonville.
"The infrastructure is already in place," said Steve Fricker, training center director. "It doesn't cost any extra to do this."
Each family will get a 15- to 20-minute interactive TV session.
"That's full-motion, live video," Fricker said. "We're hoping to see those start in January.
"What we hope to do is have regular family Freedom Calls festivals around the state, where we will link up families with their soldiers," he said.
The service is open to people living throughout the region, not just Hopkins County residents.
"One of the major benefits that we see potential to this is our proximity to Fort Campbell," said foundation spokesman Jon Garrett. "Those families will be able to come in here."
Visits will be scheduled during a specific block of time, probably about once a month, said telehealth program manager Sharilyn Menser.
"Right now, they can communicate with people in Camp Fallujah or Camp Cooke," she said. "We're told they're trying to expand that to more camps."
Families interested in participating are asked to send an e-mail to
freedom@kthnschedule.com. The message should include the military member's name, rank, branch of service, company, and the name of a family member and how to reach that person. People without e-mail may call Menser at 824-3530.
Ferrell hasn't seen her son, Nicholas, in person since January 2004. This was the first Christmas they spent apart.
Talking to him was "the best Christmas present," she said. "I would never have dreamed that I would get to do this or that it was even available."
Ferrell has two sons serving in the Army. The oldest, Spc. Christopher Williams, 27, was wounded in Iraq in August. He's back on duty at Fort Eustes, Va., but is still going through rehabilitation.
Now, Nicholas, who's 25, tells her he's OK. But that's what she heard from Christopher before he was shot, she said.
"I was heartbroken and scared for both of them," Ferrell said. "Now, I know this can happen and it can hit close to home. That's why I'm so grateful for Freedom Calls."
Nicholas is scheduled to return to the United States in March.
He serves as a crew chief on a Black hawk helicopter at Camp Cooke.
"The first time we were scheduled to talk to him, he got sent out on a mission," Ferrell said. "They worked wonders and flew him back in. I got to talk to him for 22 minutes. It was just like being with him, except for physically touching him."
Ferrell said families should "definitely" take part. She hopes to talk to Nicholas again through Freedom Calls soon.
"There's no feeling like it," she said. "Everybody that knows me, knows about this."
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