Our Vision / Abbey House
Texas’ first pediatric respite and hospice facility
A Difficult Truth- Texas Families Need Support
Children need Hospice and Respite Care – Although a child-focused (pediatric) hospice would benefit children and families, research indicate that very few of these homes exist. Currently, there are only 5 in the United States. The number of children that can benefit from a children’s respite and hospice home is considerable. There are thousands of children in the State of Texas living with a life-limiting illness.
Caring for these children takes a tremendous physical and emotional toll on their families. Respite care (rest) is not available for the parents of these children when they are not being cared for in a hospital or at home.
A children’s respite and hospice care home bridges the gap between a home and a hospital for many families. It provides a home-like environment designed exclusively for children and young adults. It gives the primary guardian a break from the demands of continuous daily care, a chance to relax and even gives them an opportunity to reconnect with their other children.
It will also give families a tranquil and peaceful place to take their child to spend their last days in a private, comfortable setting that is specifically for children. This is a time for families to cherish the limited time they have with their child making memories. It gives families an option other than the hospital or at home (which can be extremely emotional to siblings). This will fill a void previously unmet.
Most medically fragile children living with life-limiting conditions who need constant 24-hour care have difficulty accessing support, which can result in unnecessary pain and suffering and excruciating strains on families and communities.
It will take a community to make this happen. It is time to help the families currently waiting to use this home right now.
Meet Aide: In Her Words, A Story of Hope and ‘What If’
In the words of Aide Benson, a bereaved mom of a medically complex child, Christopher. “Every family with a medically fragile child carries an unseen weight—sacrifices, exhaustion, and the haunting question of ‘What if.’
In the words of Aide Benson, a bereaved mom of a medically complex child, Christopher. “Every family with a medically fragile child carries an unseen weight—sacrifices, exhaustion, and the haunting question of ‘What if.’
Abbey House is the answer to that question. It’s a place where love, care, and compassion transform the impossible into the bearable. Abbey House will give families like Aide’s a chance to breathe, to focus on one another, and to find hope in the hardest moments.
Together, we can turn ‘What if’ into ‘We did it’.
The Abigail E. Keller Foundation board of directors and Dr. Patrick Jones Dell Children’s Palliative/Hospice Director, recently had the opportunity to visit Crescent Cove pediatric respite/hospice home in Minneapolis.
What a wonderful facility supporting medical fragile and terminally ill children and their families. Such an inspiration in our work to open one here in Texas.
