Our Story
EPIC Family Retreats was born from a journey the Hassoun family never expected to take.
In October 2006, Denise’s sister Michele, a single mother with a 9-year-old daughter, was diagnosed with stage 4 non-small cell lung cancer that had spread to her lymph nodes. For the next five years, she fought courageously through treatments, surgeries, and countless challenges. There were three separate occasions when she was incredibly close to death. Eventually, her cancer spread to her brain and pelvis, and after a long and difficult battle, Michele passed away in October 2011.
A Season of Crisis and Sacrifice
During those years, the Hassoun family experienced firsthand what happens when a family faces a life-threatening diagnosis. Michele’s daughter was living through the fear and uncertainty of watching her mother fight for her life. The needs were overwhelming and Kalid and Denise became the primary support system helping them through that journey.
They were raising a growing family at the same time, welcoming their fourth, fifth, sixth, and eventually an adopted, seventh child into their lives. They were busy, but Michele’s life and her daughter’s well-being depended on the love, support, and generosity they were able to provide.
After Michele passed away, Denise wrote in her prayer journal that she hoped the next year would finally be easier. After everything the family had walked through, she thought surely they had experienced their hardest season.
From Pain to Purpose
About one year after Hunter finished treatment, Kalid and Denise were on a date night when they began reflecting on everything they had experienced. They realized there was a significant gap in support for families facing a life-threatening diagnosis while raising children.
Whether it is a parent fighting for their life or a child battling a serious illness, the entire family is affected. Parents are stretched beyond exhaustion. Siblings often feel scared, overlooked, or uncertain. Everyday responsibilities become overwhelming, and precious time together can be consumed by appointments, treatments, and worry.
Kalid and Denise knew these families needed more than medical care. They needed practical support. They needed encouragement. They needed moments of joy. They needed opportunities to create memories together while walking through a season they never expected.
That conversation became the beginning of a vision.
It did not happen quickly. It took years of dreaming, planning, and believing. But now, nearly a decade after Hunter completed treatment, that vision is becoming a reality.
The Hassoun family founded EPIC Family Retreats to walk alongside families navigating a life-threatening diagnosis—whether that diagnosis belongs to a parent or a child—transforming hardship into hope through acts of service, generosity, and shared experiences.
When one family member receives a life-threatening diagnosis, the entire family is affected. And every family deserves to feel supported, loved, and reminded that they are not walking this journey alone.