Blog

Search for solace

Solace HouseA search for solace.

Christina Curlett was considerate and selfless with a great sense of humor. Diagnosed with Stage IV Melanoma, Christina leaned on those life skills. Her husband Greg recalled, “When cancer came, it was the most important time to have a sense of humor,” he shared, “because it’s so dark and heavy, so terminal and scary.”

Eight months after her diagnosis, Christina suffered a seizure and died, sending the entire family – Greg, their five-year-old son Mason, Christina’s two grown children and stepfather – down an uncharted road to recovery through grief and healing.

Greg vividly remembers, “It was incredibly hard, incredibly lonely and [there were] very hard nights of just sitting there. Everything is super quiet and makes your ears throb, because the voice is gone and the laughter’s not there.”

Grief support at Solace House

Greg joined a peer grief support group at Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care’s Solace House Center for Grief and Healing. The opportunity to share his emotions and remember his wife with others who related to his experience was healing for Greg. He reflects, “It’s a journey and Solace House was my anchor in figuring out what to do next. I paid close attention to other people’s stories and how they felt. You never get selfish thinking this is specifically my pain, my story. It’s like a bonding experience with all of these people.”

When she first received her diagnosis, Christina and Greg’s biggest concern was how it would affect their young son Mason. A few months after attending Solace House, Greg brought Mason to join in art, music, and other therapeutic activities with children his age. Mason continued his Solace House support group and also attended Camp Erin, a weekend grief camp for children ages 6 to 17. Greg shares, “Everything is about positive growth, recognizing the past, and honoring it by moving forward.”

“I seek strength to carry on. I seek courage to move beyond pain. I seek faith to believe happiness will come again. Solace is my goal. I can find it. I can help others discover it.” —Solace House Affirmation

Camp Erin is one of two grief camps offered annually for kids and families. Thanks to support from our donors, there are no fees for families.

About Us

 
The mission of Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care is to bring expert care, peace of mind, comfort, guidance, and hope to people who are affected by life-limiting illness or by grief. Our vision is that each person in our community is valued from life through death and each family is supported in their grief.

Posted in Luminary

Leave a Reply

Our Programs

Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care provides comprehensive, expert care for all ages at all stages of serious illness.

Hospice Care

When the focus shifts to comfort instead of treatment, care comes to your home or nursing facility with a plan tailored to your needs, including emotional and spiritual support for the whole family.

Read More

Hospice Care

Palliative Medicine Fellowship

Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care is the community clinical site for the University of Kansas Hospice and Palliative Medicine Fellowship. We're committed to developing physicians with specialty-level training in caring for patients with serious or terminal illness.

Read More

Palliative Medicine Fellowship

Community-Based Palliative Care

Beginning as early as diagnosis and at any stage of serious illness, our nurse practitioners make home visits as needed to help coordinate your care and provide expert pain and symptom management.

Read More

Community-Based Palliative Care
Hospice House

Hospice House

When symptoms cannot be easily managed at home, two hospice houses provide 24/7 expert care in comfortable home-line settings where family members can be relieved of caregiving duties to focus on loved ones.

Read More

Carousel Pediatric Care

Carousel provides palliative and hospice care for perinatal and for babies through young adults with a dedicated team of pediatric nurses, social workers, chaplains and other specialists.

Read More

Carousel Pediatric Care
Solace House

Solace House

Our center for grief and healing supports individuals and families who have been impacted by the death of a loved one, whether anticipated, or sudden and unexpected. We provide opportunities to share, listen, learn and heal with peer group support from age 3 through adult.

Read More