“I still remember arriving in October 2018. I was tired. I was cold. I was sick. But I walked into a place that was beautiful, welcoming, and safe.”
~ Allice Legat, Compassion House Guest
Allice Legat has been living with stage 4 lung cancer since 2018.
She has travelled from Yellowknife to Edmonton again and again for cancer treatment, leaving behind her home, loved ones, and familiar routines.
“At first, I stayed in a hotel near the Cross Cancer Institute,” Allice says. “But the costs were quickly eating through my savings.”
Then her friend and caregiver, Joanne, discovered Sorrentino’s Compassion House.
“I still remember arriving for the first time,” says Allice. “I was tired. I was cold. I was sick.”
What she found was more than an affordable place to stay. She recalls, “I slept deeply that first night.”
Over the last eight years, Allice has stayed at Compassion House 48 times, for over 200 nights.
“When people hear those numbers, they focus on the cancer,” Allice says, “but I think about the community, the women, the staff, the volunteers who made those stays feel less lonely.”
At Sorrentino’s Compassion House, women who are travelling for cancer treatment find themselves surrounded by other women who understand, making the House feel so special.
“It’s really important for women to have their own space to share their stories about cancer,” Allice says, “how they’ve dealt with the fear, the pain, the side-effects. Talking to your kids. Accepting that you have cancer.”
This is what your generosity makes possible.
The House holds many comforting moments for Allice: “the craft room where I started crocheting again; the exercise room where I do weights while others do yoga or walk on the treadmill; the table where some women sit for hours putting jigsaw puzzles together, focusing on finding pieces, building a scene, forgetting about the itchy, painful, exhausting side effects of treatments.”
Donors like you help keep Sorrentino’s Compassion House beautiful, welcoming, and purposefully cared for, from the private suites where women can rest to wellness spaces where guests can move, create, talk, and find moments of peace.
For 24 years, the House has welcomed women who must travel to Edmonton for cancer treatment, providing affordable accommodation, transportation to and from medical appointments, and restorative spaces for wellness activities.
At its heart, though, Sorrentino’s Compassion House is a place where women never face cancer alone.
Will you make a year-end gift today to help ensure the next woman who arrives at here finds the same warmth, comfort, and community that Allice did?
“If they have told you that you’re not going to live very long, Compassion House gives you the gift of feeling alive.”
Thank you for reading Allice’s story.
Whether you make a one-time gift or join The CALM Club with a monthly gift, your generosity helps keep Sorrentino’s Compassion House a beautiful, welcoming home away from home for women travelling to Edmonton for cancer treatment.
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