Precious Moments

During the first few months of his life, Sully had three stays at Children’s Mercy. During his final stay, the Allisons chose to bring four-month-old Sully home in the care of KCH. He was given a prognosis of approximately six more months to live.

“We met the Carousel team in May,” recalls Staci, Sully's mom, “and we decided to have them come into our home once a week.”

The KCH Carousel Pediatric Care team is the region’s only multidisciplinary team fully trained and dedicated to meeting the unique needs of children facing a serious illness, and their families. No one likes to think about seriously ill children, but when that child is yours, you want a compassionate team of experts - and that’s what Carousel is. The program’s primary goal is to support the family and their child, so they can live as well as possible and enjoy their time together. For the Allisons, the Carousel team was able to help them care for Sully at home, where the family was able to carry on with a sense of normalcy and make lasting memories together.

“The whole Carousel team was nothing short of amazing,” shares Staci. “I don’t have enough words to describe how great they’ve been to us. It was extra hands, it was support. It was the big things, like events and bucket lists. And it was the little things like checking his vitals and rubbing his hair.”

Because they knew Sully’s time was heartbreakingly short, the Carousel team organized craft projects to create mementos for the Allisons. “We knew that we wouldn’t have Sully forever and to be able to have something of his to keep forever is really special,” Staci shares. “Every time we see this, we’re going to think of him.”

Leslie Rusch, the KCH Carousel team’s social worker, often did crafts with the Allisons. “We got to focus on the living. We focused on those moments of joy we had with Sully - and with the family - and supported them through a really difficult time.”

We are often asked at Kansas City Hospice why we need donations. While hospice is a defined benefit under Medicare guidelines, many individuals served by KCH do not qualify for Medicare, some private insurers do not cover hospice or palliative care, and some individuals do not have coverage at all. Generous donor support provides access to care for the most high-risk community members – including children and teens with life-limiting medical conditions - as well as adults of all ages. Your gifts ensure the healthcare needs of everyone, including underserved and marginalized communities, are met with high-quality, effective, inclusive and accessible services. Your generous support also allows the KCH team to go above and beyond what can be reimbursed, making it possible for us to be here - and create precious moments - for those who need us next.

• A gift of $50 can help provide toys and books for a child receiving hospice care from our Carousel team or learning to express themselves and cope with their grief through art and play therapy supplies.
• A gift of $100 can provide one hour of specialized counseling to a child or family following the death of a loved one, or other experiences of trauma and loss.
• A gift of $250 can purchase comfort kits and other supplies for patients as they begin service at KCH.
• A gift of $1,000 can help to nearly cover the cost of one day of inpatient care at Kansas City Hospice House or NorthCare Hospice House.
• A gift of $2,500 can purchase medication and tiny-sized equipment for a little one like Sully, receiving Carousel Pediatric Care.

We can only do this work because of our wonderful donors. Thank you for your generosity.