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struggles too and those of their loved ones: parents, siblings, grandparents and friends. For many years I dreamed of creating a place where kids and parents with serious illness could just rest and maybe work or play in nature for a while; where they could get away from the worries and stresses that sometimes consumed their lives. Time for a little fun, still time to just be together could mean so much to them. I always dreamed this would be a farm but instead it turned out to be The Still Place in the magical forests of the Tusquittee Valley in Hayesville, North Carolina, where the legend of the Cherokee said “ the waterdog laughed.” Come listen for yourself one day.
For fun? In the summer I love to garden, hike, whitewater raft and play in the Lake and Creek. (Hey, maybe I have a little waterdog in me?) I absolutely love to visit on porches, sew quilts, knit, cook for lots of people, shop for antiques (junky ones) and play with children. I still like make believe and fairies.
​Dr. Dawn Grinenko
I grew up on a small farm in Plant City, Florida, surrounded by strawberry fields and orange groves. My first pets were a little black calf with a straw hat and a pig named Corky. I kept waiting for my spiders to write messages in their webs, I’m still looking!
I became a Gator and pretty much stayed in Gainesville for the next 30 years where I completed medical school, an Internal Medicine residency and then after spending some time in Chapel Hill, I finished pediatric training and came back to join the faculty of Pediatrics, Community and Family Medicine and Internal Medicine where I was blessed to serve the best patients I could ever imagine. Later in my career, I was a Hospitalist in Hendersonville, NC. My patients taught me that there was way more to their lives than their illness. I saw their
​When I was born my father was in Germany serving our country in WW II. We moved to Gainesville, Florida, where he finished his education and provided for his family. We weren’t poor but there was never much extra. Dad was strict yet fair with little room for foolishness. As a kid, my days were spent exploring Gainesville on my ultramarine blue Schwinn. I studied hard and made good grades but that didn’t keep me out of the principal’s office. I was the class clown and well acquainted with “The Enforcer” which hung on Mrs. Terwilliger’s wall. One day, following the last of five whacks, I turned and said, “might as well go ahead and give me a few more so we can both save ourselves some time in the future.” She couldn’t help but crack a smile.
​With the guidance of my Dad, Mrs. Terwilliger, the Boy Scouts and the best
high school poker pals ever, I ended up staying out of serious trouble and was accepted to the University of Florida as a medical student, continuing my studies as an intern at Duke and as a resident and fellow at Johns Hopkins where I became a hematologist. My career at the University of Florida spanned the next 40 years where I served as a professor, performed research and published in areas related to hematology. I became especially interested in the hematologic effects of rattlesnake bites which developed into a special interest along with clinical hemophilia. I still spent a lot of time in the “principal’s office” usually for my mouth getting me into all sorts of adventures but even the College of Medicine Dean can crack a grin unexpectedly. I retired in 2015 and continue to serve as Professor Emeritus, which mostly means I have free parking. One of my greatest accomplishments in my career was selecting, training, mentoring, disciplining and deeming board-eligible over 500 Internal Medicine residents now scattered across the nation in various subspecialties caring for thousands of patients.
​At The Still Place, I see a quiet, humble, fun and all-the-while spiritual retreat, with time, resources and attention to what is really important to families, caregivers and health care professionals as they face serious illness and life transitions. These ideals are not only internally derived but externally are buttressed by the writings, events and opinions of those who have come here with their families and have experienced similar uplifting if not magical feelings.
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I enjoy eating, reading, hiking and raising cattle. Dawn and I love to travel and find new adventures. Late at night I love to sneak out on the deck to peer into the heavens visiting the moon, searching for the Milky Way and then tying my prayers to the Pleiades in awe of the many miracles of life.
​Dr. Craig Kitchens
