Our grandmother is 90 years old. While you have never met her, you should know she is a wonderful woman and one of the kindest I have ever known. She has always taken care of her family, and she is very strong. Even now she proudly lives on her own.

However, a few years ago, our grandmother suffered a severe injury to her foot. She needed help. We love her very much, so Jesse and I took it upon ourselves to move in with her so we could help her until she recovered. However, over time we realized our grandmother needed more help than anyone knew.

Grandmother was showing several signs of dementia, and was having trouble with her daily needs. We could not abandon her.

We decided to continue living with her for another 14 months. We helped her with chores and the hard yard work which was dangerous for someone in her condition. But we also helped her bathe, cook, and remember some of the things that we becoming hard for her to remember, such as when to eat or take her medications.

The thought of a traditional nursing home upset our grandmother very much. She did not want to live in a hospital setting, where the rooms are impersonal and where the staff is always changing. She did not want to be living with hundreds of other elderly people, where a single staffmember is assigned to 10-15 people. But most importantly, Grandmother loved her home, and she did not want to leave it. This is the same story for many people her age. Several of Grandmother’s friends explained to us that they would feel the same way.

That is when Jesse and I had an idea: Jesse and I could open our own home for seniors, so they could live with us and have a family taking care of their individual needs! This would be a place for seniors who felt scared of nursing homes, as Grandmother did. This idea excited Jesse and I. Seniors have worked hard their entire lives, and they deserve a safe home with a family environment that does not treat them like a hospital patient or send them different staff members or physicians every day that they have never met. They deserve a traditional home with loving people who view them as family.

We immediately started researching how we could make this goal a reality. That was three years ago. Now, after a lot of research, remodeling, and hard work, we were able to open our home as an elderly care facility dedicated to providing loving care and attention to a small group of up to 5 elderly residents. After so much time, we hope to begin our mission of helping other grandparents, just like our own, who are in need of a loving place to stay that offers them daily assistance with dignity and comfort.