Craig Curtis' Eulogy

NOTE: The following was giving by Kit's big brother, Craig Curtis at Kit's Memorial Service, May 29, 2010 at Camp Arnold, Ohio. Craig was the first to speak. - Tom

Stanley, Bunny and I want to express our gratitude and immense appreciation to everyone here...to Kit’s family, her extended family and to all her friends who helped her so much. We are comforted to know that so many people cared about Kit... That so many went above and beyond in helping her, not just this time, but also in her previous bouts with her challenges. You know who are and we thank you more than these few words can say.

We are all born…we enter life...and then...pass from life…

It is the journey between entering and passing that gives rise to our story...

Kit’s story, is a story of a miraculous heart,
...There are both a physical and spiritual sides to her heart...
...it is a story of sheer willpower, determination and a strong spirit to survive
...coupled with gentle love, kindness and a deep caring for her family.

All of us are upset our loss. Still, let me point out that we SHOULD be happy at the 64 years that she did have with us...

Kit’s life as we know it was not supposed to happen.....
…that is why I say...
…her heart was a miracle...
…her life was a miracle...
…and most important…her children were a miracle...

First, the physical story...

In the fall of 1946, some of the smartest people on the planet predicted that today’s celebration of Kit’s life... would never happened...

What am I saying? ...putting it truthfully, at birth, Kit was not supposed to live beyond the age of 7...
...it was a grim prediction...at the very beginning of her new life.

Kit was born with a defective heart. She was born a “blue baby’ and almost all “blue babies” never were expected to become teenagers, much less adults.

Why? At the time of hr birth, there were no heart operations on adults...much less infants. Today, we take for granted the angioplasties, the by-pass operations, the value repairs, but NONE...of these heart procedures existed when Kit was born.

Our Mother, who is buried here at Camp Arnold, was a very determined woman and refused to accept the doctors’ verdict. Mother fought hard for Kit’s life and from Mother, Kit learned how to fight for her own life as well. In time, Mother got Kit into the world’s foremost pediatric heart center at the Children Hospital in Boston. Kit underwent several early exploratory operations to “map” her heart for possible future procedures.

The best medical advice at the time was to move KIT to a warm tropical climate. In the tropics, her blood would thin...her weak heart would pump less, and by doing so, she MIGHT extend the life of her heart until such time as medical technology could catch up to her condition.

So in order to save Kit’s life, the family... literally moved to the Carribean. During this time, Kit returned to Children’s Hospital in Boston for several more “exploratory” operations over the ensuing years. After a period of about 11 years in the tropics, her condition improved enough so that the family was able to return to the States. She continued with more operations, cumulating with a major 14 hour “open heart surgery” operation in Birmingham, Alabama. As fate would have it, the medical technology advanced to the point where her “blue” condition was fixable. Finally she became a “normal” person in her early 20’s. She started her family. A family was so important to her. Next, she had her 2 girls by natural child-birth. Astounding!

Afterwards, there were always the occasional “check-ups”, “tune-ups” and in time, a value replacement or two, along with their complications...and this is where most of you all came in, to help her through all her recent bouts...

...all in all, we should rejoice in that she survived for 57 years beyond the earlier predictions made at birth.

But recently, her physical heart said “Kit...I know that your spirit is willing to go on, but I’m tired...I’ve been cut, scarred and stitched too often...We’ve been through so much so together... I just can’t go on any longer and I am truly sorry…So I am giving you back to your higher power...”

I am so sorry for all that Kit suffered, but also I am so proud for her strength, bravery and love that showed as she fought her illness to the very end.

You know the rest of the story…
________________________

Now to the spiritual side of her heart…

It is the SPIRIT of Kit’s heart that we remember today....
her physical illness made her into a person who always thought about others before thinking of herself....
her heart was an exceptionally generous one......
she was almost childlike in her desire to do good for others...
it was as if she had already received so much in her life and she put others’ needs before her own...
... and she turned out to be such an extraordinary sister, wife, mother and grandmother and friend.

We will hear a lot more about Kit extraordinary spirit from others in a moment…

So the light has gone out of our lives and there seems to be a bit of darkness everywhere... I know her body no longer has life. But I still feel Kit is still right here at Camp Arnold, along with Mother....

As we were driving out to Camp Arnold, somewhere around Maryland, Kit and I seemed to have a conversation... and I think her words summed up her life and the way she lived it.

I said: Kit, I am glad that you are no longer in pain, but I miss you...my heart aches...
Kit said:
Tell everybody that I love them...and that I'm ok.
Let them know how proud I am of them, and ask them not to miss me
...because I'm still around...
and for the time being, just let my body go...

...don’t shed too many tears
...Be thankful, we’ve had so many good years

...Everybody gave me so much love...you can only guess
...How much they’ve returned to me in happiness.

...I thank you all for the love you have given,
...But now it’s time to move on to heaven.

...Grieve for a while, if you must...
...Then let your grief be comforted...I trust

...That it is only for a while that we must part,
...So treasure the memories inside your heart.
...I won't be far away.

...And if you need me, I’ll be near
...And if you listen with your heart, you'll hear
...my love, so soft, flowing and clear...
...And then, when you too come this way,
...I'll greet you with a hug and say
“Welcome...I love you...”

Kit, my miracle sister, lives in our spirit...
...now she joins our mother here...at Camp Arnold
... She will be in our hearts as long as we live.
...Kit, we all love you.
...Kit, I love you...