When Katie Fitzpatrick called her father, Bill Fitzpatrick, from Pittsburgh in March 2024, the fear in her voice is something her father will never forget. At the time, Katie was a junior at the University of Pittsburgh, far from home and suffering from severe abdominal pain. Without hesitation, Bill dropped everything and made the four-hour drive from Philadelphia, expecting to stay just a couple of days to be by her side.
Those few days turned into 28 long and emotional ones. Katie’s initial diagnosis of a UTI was later followed by a ruptured ovarian cyst during her second emergency room visit in three days. Over the next several weeks, she endured four separate hospitalizations at UPMC Montefiore and UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, including a terrifying battle with sepsis. For Bill, the helplessness of watching his child suffer was beyond words.
Being close to Katie, however, came with unexpected challenges. Having left work years earlier to care for his daughter and his other children through complex medical needs, finances were already stretched thin. Midway through Katie’s first hospital stay, Bill ran out of money for lodging. One night, with nowhere else to go, he slept in his car in a UPMC parking lot.
Everything changed when a compassionate nurse told Bill about Family House.
From the moment he arrived, Family House became his lifeline—and his home. In 2024 alone, Bill made seven trips from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, spending more than 100 nights at Family House. Each stay provided far more than a roof over his head; it offered comfort, stability, and a welcoming community of people who truly understood what he was going through. Some even became lifelong friends.
Most importantly, Family House gave Bill the strength to show up for Katie when she needed him most. With the help of supportive services such as financial assistance, daily complimentary breakfast, transportation to and from the hospital, emotional support groups, and volunteer-led dinners, he was able to focus fully on being the best caregiver possible for his daughter.
Bill often says that the exceptional hospitals and medical professionals at UPMC helped save Katie’s life, but Family House saved his. “Without Family House, I don’t know how I would have made it through those months or how I could have supported Katie through some of the scariest moments of her life, and my own.”, said Bill.
By donating to Family House, you help provide comfort, financial relief, and emotional support to patients and their caregivers when it is needed most.
Support Family House: familyhouse.org/donate
