What do families do when they have a loved one in a hospital far from home?

At one area hospital, there's a special place for those who need to be near by but can't afford a hotel.

Jeanna and her 12 year old son Hans have called an RV home for the past two weeks.

Jeanna Herrgesell:  "It feels like an extended home; we've got a place to sleep, we got a place to shower, we've got a place to cook."

Jeanna is not passing her time in the great outdoors.  She is camped out within sight of her son's hospital room at Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center.

On August 7th, 19 year old Cody Herrgesell was in a car accident near Bear Lake.

Jeanna Herrgesell:  "Cody was ejected from the vehicle.  He sustained head injuries and his lung collapsed; he fractured 5 of his ribs, his sternum, his clavicle, broke his collarbone."

He was in a coma for five days. Doctors told Cody's parents that due to the head injury, their son may never walk or speak again. But he's proven them wrong and is now on the 6th floor in the rehab unit.

Cody's recovery is taken day by day. One small movement means a giant leap in his progress.

Jeanna says it's a two and a half hour drive, one way, between their home in Montpelier and the hospital in Idaho Falls. With the high cost of gas, she would not have been able to drive everyday, and could not have afforded to spend weeks in a hotel.

Jeanna Herrgesell:  "And so you're looking at 5 hours travel time to my visits. Had I not had the RV, would be minimal."

Each year, hundreds of families use the RV campground in the back parking lot of EIRMC as a home away from home while their loved one recovers in the hospital. Jeanna feels that there is no way that her son would have made such progress if she wasn't able to be so close.

Jeanna Herrgesell: "I feel like Cody is absolutely getting better faster because of having family support and having us close."

She can't imagine not being here to take part when her son makes progress during his therapy sessions and is thankful every day to her friends, the Morrell's, who loaned her the RV so she can stay each night so close to her son.

Jeanna Herrgesell: "I don't think I would be sleeping at all. At all. Your arms aren't long enough to reach your child from Bear Lake. It's hard enough out in the back lot, but not from Bear Lake."

And having a place to go, without a long drive when she needs a break, helps her be strong for Cody.

Jeanna Herrgesell: "It's so reassuring I mean, I know that at a moments notice I can be up here if something is needed or if Cody just needs me, you know if he just wants to see me I can be here."

And his mother knows that her being so close will help him get home soon.

EIRMC doesn't charge for an RV rental space or charge for the electricity it provides. The hospital also has security guards to keep a close eye on those staying in the campground.