Becoming a caregiver at 30

Becoming an advocate and caregiver at 30, with zero preparation on how to be one, opened my eyes to the gaps within hospitalizations and end-of-life care. Spending two months in a hospital with my dad, navigating DNRs and advance directives, collaborating with specialized teams and patient advocacy, coordinating hospital transfers, medications, and insurance companies, and ultimately palliative care, I knew there had to be a more efficient way to handle everything involved.

The weight of everything made it hard to breathe, and some moments felt like a dark place. I did most of it practically on my own, with guidance from the people closest to me.

Enter Beacon & Breathe: a light to guide you through the dark, and a place to breathe when you feel like you can't. One shared plan for the whole family, so no one has to carry this alone. A command center for navigating the stressful days in a hospital, the transition from hospital to home, and the death that comes after.

I'm Noëlle Giebe, a product designer who wanted to build a product that helps orchestrate compassionate care and dignified passages during a family health crisis. I built this for anyone who needs it and hope it makes a difficult time a little easier.

Noëlle