It's 3:00 AM, and I can’t sleep. I’m lying awake, overwhelmed with worry for my Aunt Trish. She's suffering, and I’m feeling lost and helpless.
 

It's the fall of 2016. My brother and I are at my aunt and uncle's once-stunning, now-neglected home. Designed and meticulously built by my uncle, the house was filled with detailed craftsmanship, antiques, and art collected over three generations. Now, dust and cobwebs have taken over. The once vibrant pink carpet in my room is strewn with random belongings.
 

We're gathered to celebrate Thanksgiving together. It will be the last time Aunt Trish sits down with us at the table, though none of us know it yet. If we did, we would’ve built her one last fire in the fireplace.
 

As Aunt Trish's cancer worsened, she became bedridden. It was hard for all of us to accept. Until her diagnosis at 69, she'd never slowed down. She was a pilot, a scuba diver, and a competitive tennis player — fearless in every sense. But cancer proved to be the one challenge she couldn’t overcome.
 

There is something even harder for me to witness: the beginning stages of pressure injuries on her lower back and occiput, caused by lapses in her care. I’m an intensive care nurse: I know that I am capable and willing. There must be a solution — but what?
 

The next morning, neither of us well-rested, my brother and I went to a local medical supply store. We gathered whatever we could find to help Aunt Trish.
 

It wasn’t easy, and not everything we tried worked. Gel-packed items that worked for babies didn’t suit an adult. The pillows we found were far too hard and uncomfortable. But we kept experimenting, driven by the same “MacGyvering” mentality nurses often use — constantly innovating and improving care with whatever tools are available.

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Eventually, we found the right combination: custom sheets and soft pillows that would later become the Cloud 9 Care System. Seeing its success, it worked so well that my business-savvy brother suggested we develop it into a product to help others care for their loved ones.

We send our best wishes for you or your loved one’s healing, and we know that Aunt Trish would be honored that her experiences are helping other people.