Sheila
Christianson,
President and Founder of Healing Palms of Kauai, knows all too
well the special needs of caregivers. She lost her husband,
Grant, in 1999 to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (also known
as Lou Gehrig's Disease). This debilitating disease gradually
eroded Grant's health and mobility over the course of five years.
Sheila cared for Grant throughout his illness, experiencing
firsthand all of the stress and emotional conflict caregivers
go through while taking on the responsibility of a loved one's
long-term care. She is acutely aware of the special needs of
caregivers.
The
"Care Packages", special events, workshops and
services of Healing Palms of Kauai have been thoughtfully created
to support the physical, mental and emotional needs of those
special people who care for others.
Like many people, Sheila has had several careers. She graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology (concentration in Industrial/Organizational) from Wayne State University in Detroit in 1991. Her first job out of college was working in Human Resources at Mazda Research and Development. This job gave her diverse experience working with different people and cultures. She later lived in France for a short time and then moved back to the States and worked in other automotive-related companies to add to her background. Overall, she spent about six years working in the automotive industry in Human Resources and Quality Certification QS-9000.
Sheila’s life changed dramatically when her fiancé, Grant, was diagnosed with ALS in 1995, only 3 months after he had proposed to her. Despite Grant’s terminal diagnosis, they were married on March 24, 1996, on Kauai, their favorite Hawaiian island. Within their first year of marriage, Sheila became Grant’s full-time caregiver. Although they were aware of Grant’s prognosis (3 to 5 years), they never could have prepared for the experience. In 1997, they realized a dream when they moved from northern Michigan to Kauai, where they took an early retirement. Sadly, Grant died on September 4, 1999. Sheila was 31.
After Grant’s death, Sheila haphazardly attempted to rebuild her life while working full-time in fine jewelry sales and management for several years. She had the support of family, friends, and numerous professionals. It was by the grace of their empowerment, encouragement, support, and the skills they helped her to develop and find in herself that she was able to fully create a new life for herself. This personal experience showed her that no one can expect to do this alone.
Related Professional Experience
In September 2002, Sheila created Healing Palms of Kauai, which provides retreats for caregivers and grievers. She continues to offer retreats in this glorious, healing paradise.
In April 2003, Sheila was extensively trained as a volunteer with Kauai Hospice. Shortly thereafter, she realized she needed to develop her life’s work on the mainland. In September 2003, she moved to Santa Fe, N.M., to help build her family’s business, a non-medical home care franchise called Visiting Angels. She worked in all aspects of the business, including recruiting, hiring, training, marketing, public relations, scheduling, client assessments, and care giving. This position gave her extensive experience in working with clients and their families through care giving, hospice, and grief. In addition, she was actively involved in the New Mexico Association for Continuity of Care (NMACC) and Santa Fe Doorways, a coalition for dying and bereaved members of the community. All of these experiences cemented Sheila’s desire to receive a formal education in grief studies and life coaching.
In June 2004, Sheila began training in personal and professional life coaching with The Coaches Training Institute (CTI). She completed the International Coaching Federation’s accredited coach training program in November 2004. In September 2004, Sheila continued her education in the grief certificate program at Southwestern College in Santa Fe, N.M. In August 2006, Sheila will be a candidate for certification with The Grief Recovery Institute’s Grief Certificate Program as a Grief Recovery Specialist for their outreach programs.
Since November 2004, Sheila has been building her career as a personal and professional life coach. She continues to help individual clients grow beyond previously held limitations, moving to new places both personally and professionally. They continue to thrive in new lives, while making their dreams a reality. In addition, she is actively developing grief wellness coaching programs and retreats on the mainland and in Hawaii.
Sheila has spent the last year, 2005, writing a memoir about her journey with Grant through ALS. It is a story about love, commitment, and the humanness of living with a terminal illness. She currently is working through the intense editing process and is preparing her manuscript for submission to agents and publishers. Click here to learn more about Sheila, her book and grief wellness coaching, retreats and workshops.
Click
here to read "Our Secret Beach", a true
and touching story written by Healing Palms of Kauai founder
Sheila Christianson about her husband's terminal illness
and her experience as his caregiver. It truly is the story
behind Healing Palms of Kauai.
