Chester County family desperate for medical transport to bring sick dad home from vacation

PHOENIXVILLE, Pa. - A local family is desperate to bring their father, a Vietnam veteran and two-time Purple Heart recipient, back home to Chester County after he suffered a medical emergency while away on vacation in Las Vegas.

What we know:

Bill Peters, 77, and Cameron Peters, 52, are small business owners and temporarily closed their floral shop "Cameron Peters Floral Design" on March 10 in Phoenixville to go on their first vacation in about a decade. Their plan was to reopen the shop again on March 24.

Sadly, Bill caught the flu during the trip and went into respiratory failure. He has now been in the hospital in Las Vegas since March 18. The family said he was vaccinated.

What they're saying:

"We’re here trying to do everything we can from 2,600 miles away," said daughter Missy Yetter. "I miss him, I really want him home here where we can all take care of him. I know his grandkids really miss him. I just feel like if we can get him home, we can collectively as a family, take great care for him because the last month and a half has been really hard."

"It’s really, really hard having to do everything by telephone and not be there for him and we just really want to try and get him home at this point," said son John Peters, a Douglass Township Police officer. "Our dad is still on a ventilator. Therefore, he can’t take a regular flight home."

Timeline:

Bill’s wife Cameron has stayed by his side this whole time. Over Zoom, she tells FOX 29 her husband was in the ICU and intubated for over 20 days. Two weeks ago, he received a tracheotomy and feeding tube and is showing signs of alertness, according to Cameron, and said his recovery is going to take some time.

"It’s been a lot. It’s definitely been a lot trying to get through everything," said Cameron. "Now he’s not medically sedated all day. He’s alert, he’s awake, he can respond so I can ask him a question and he’ll shake his head yes or no, you know gently, but yes or no."

By the numbers:

A gofundme was created for the family to cover Cameron and Bill’s expenses, as the floral shop is their only source of income and has now been closed for over 40 days.

Cameron said rent, utilities and insurance for their business and home add up to about $7,000 a month.

Not to mention, the unexpected expenses for Cameron’s extended stay in Las Vegas to care for Bill in the hospital, and most importantly to fund a special medical flight to bring Bill back home.

"Anybody who can donate, please, we’d love to get him home and give back to him as much as he’s given to his communities over the years," said John.

Dig deeper:

After his military service, Bill worked as a volunteer firefighter and EMT and also served as the Director of Public Safety and EMS for Montgomery County.

Bill suffers from chronic lymphocytic leukemia, which is attributed to his exposure to Agent Orange from his service during the Vietnam War.

"His unit was actually the unit that the movie "Platoon" was based off of while he was in Vietnam. He was shot twice so he received two Purple Hearts," said John. "We need to get him back home where he can be surrounded by us, where we can better take care of him and have him happier to be home too."

Big picture view:

"He’s the sweetest man in the whole world. He would do anything for anybody. He’s never let me down my entire life," said Yetter. "There’s no better man in the world than him, and obviously, he’s my dad."

"The outpouring of love from people we know, customers or even people that we don’t know who we are and friends has been overwhelming," said Cameron. "You’re just so appreciative when people who don’t even know you that well are willing to even donate."

The family said doctors have cleared Bill to travel on a medical flight, and now it’s just a matter of finding one that meets his medical needs and paying for it.

What you can do:

Click here if you’d like to support the family through gofundme.