The Achilles Heel

My parents had recently divorced. My mom was living in New Jersey by herself, in a 55-plus community, three hours away from where my family and I live in Baltimore.

On a visit in early 2021, I noticed she had suddenly started walking with a cane. Up until this point, from a healthcare perspective, she had been completely self-reliant. Sure, she had a couple of health challenges along the way, but she could basically manage and navigate her own care.

When I saw her with the cane, I asked: "Mom, what's wrong with the foot?"

She said she had something wrong with a ligament. Needed a small surgery. From where I sat, it sounded solvable.

Six months later, I was home for a holiday visit. My mom was still walking around with a cane.

It was my aunt who casually mentioned: "Well, Gregory, your mother's got an Achilles tendon tear."

That's where my caregiver journey began.

Because it wasn't long after that I realized the ankle was the least of my problems.

Before I could even process what was unfolding in front of my eyes, I found myself managing multiple chronic conditions, overseeing a move from New Jersey to Baltimore, navigating the diagnosis of a chronic cognitive disease, transitioning her into assisted living, and setting up all new healthcare.

All of these peaks of care—before any quiet valley in sight.

What if we lived in a world where we had the equivalent of Doppler radar for the aging population?

Something that would let us see the cloudy, dark, stormy danger that may lie ahead. Something that could give us any kind of indicator—other than our own audio-visual cues from talking to our loved ones—that maybe all is not well.

What if we could transform all this complex medical information into a simple, easy-to-use format—so that patients and their caregivers could finally be on the same page?

What if a group of siblings looking after one of their parents could all advocate for them using the same information? What if patients, caregivers, and providers were all aligned when it came to caring for our loved ones?

We started with the Illuminator—our MVP that transformed Medicare claims data into something caregivers could actually use. It proved the concept: give families access to the information they need, and they become better advocates.

Now we're building Twila—an AI companion that goes further. Not just organizing information, but understanding it. Anticipating what's coming. Giving caregivers the clarity and confidence to act when it matters most.

Empowering caregivers to confidently advocate for the people they love.

Better health outcomes—because informed caregivers make better decisions.

Lower cost of care—because early intervention prevents crises.

And most importantly: caregivers who feel prepared, not overwhelmed. Who can walk into any doctor's appointment, any emergency room, any difficult conversation—and advocate with confidence.

There are 53 million family caregivers in the United States. Most of them didn't choose this role—they stepped into it because someone they love needed them.

We're building Twila for every one of them.