Devoted grandson prevents the family from placing grandma in elderly care home by becoming her full-time caregiver

Young and fit Chris Punsalan has gone viral online, but maybe not for the reasons that you think. A long-time musician and content creator, 29-year-old Punsalan is all over the net with hundreds of thousands of subscribers on his social media accounts.

Most of the content that has set the internet abuzz these days focuses on funny clips, food vlogs, and fun dance sequences – but not Punsalan’s. His social media is all about giving his beloved grandma, the best elderly care.

Punsalan, of Henderson, Nevada, was always interested in making a presence on social media. He created his YouTube channel in 2014 and started making TikTok videos in 2019.

Initially focusing on music, his platforms now document the loving relationship and daily routine with his grandma, who requires constant elderly care.  

Originally from Tarlac province in the Philippines, the Punsalans moved to the United States with their grandma, who was a former elementary school teacher.

The grandma had a caregiver to manage her elderly care, and Punsalan would often help out. He recalled, “That was my introduction to it, but I never saw myself as a full-time caregiver. It was really difficult for me to even help the caregiver because it made me really uncomfortable, seeing my grandmother like that. I grew up with her, so seeing her not being able to do things for herself was really difficult for me.”

In 2015, the caregiver could no longer visit, and the family faced a tough decision – hire a full-time caregiver or bring grandma to a home for the aged.

Punsalan made the choice easier for the family. At the time, he was about to graduate and did not have anything lined up. He couldn’t imagine sending his grandma away, nor seeing her being cared for by someone she didn’t know.

Realizing how close he was to his grandma, Punsalan decided that he would manage her elderly care. “I was like, I’d rather be the one to take care of her instead of bringing her to home care. I wasn’t forced into it, but I felt like it was my obligation to step up and take on the responsibility. Now, I couldn’t imagine my life being any other way,” he said.

Now, he devotes all his time to her.  His dedication to grandma soon evolved into his social media content.

Before he had experimented with different contents and styles, mostly focusing on his interest in music, and now he is famous for something even closer to his heart.

He first posted about ensuring his grandma’s elderly care on TikTok in 2019, which generated 25.7 million views.

He said, “I had no idea it would do that. I feel like that’s what everyone says, but kind of in the back of our mind, it would be nice if the video(s) would take off. It was just really nice to see people accepting and being really receptive to it.”

Obviously, it created a lot of interest, but he really began uploading more videos of his grandmother in 2022, forming a huge following among people who were really touched by the loving and caring relationship between Punsalan and his grandma.

The vlogs cover the daily routine of elderly care: from preparing her bed and making sure she’s comfortable, to getting her up in the morning, getting her washed and clothed, applying bed sore medicine, preparing her meals, transporting her around the house, and lifting her from wheelchair to her bed.

Punsalan’s lighthearted personality shines through all these tasks, and he maintains a playful banter with grandma. There are a lot of inside jokes that get a smile out of his grandmother.

All of Punsalan’s chores are done with extreme tenderness, and there are a lot of lessons for those who are also managing the elderly care of their loved ones.

Punsalan talks about managing grandma’s hygiene, giving her tasks so that she maintains a sense of purpose, and keeping her habits alive, including saying prayers before meals.

His grandma’s elderly care requires undivided attention, love, and patience, but Punsalan has proven that he is more than capable of caring for his grandma.

They often speak to each other in Kapampagan, their local dialect, and Punsalan calls her “Apu,” which is Kapampangan for Lola or grandmother.

Now 96, grandma, however, is frail, which often worries Punsalan. She has become really forgetful, which is evident in some of his videos, where Punsalan would ask her who he was and how they were related.

Sometimes the discussion would seem like a guessing game until she would correctly recognize Punsalan as her grandson. Moments like these make him sad, but also more aware of the need to treasure every moment.

Punsalan always goes the extra mile to ensure his grandma is content and has everything that she needs. He makes sure that she has her treasured rosary, and that she knows how much Punsalan loves her.

He hopes that viewers take a couple things away from watching the videos with grandma. He said, “Putting myself in an old person’s shoes—like hopefully when I become a grandfather—if I had a grandchild to help me out, it would just make life so much easier. I think [caregiving] is an underappreciated field. I just want to shed some light on caregivers and hopefully inspire younger people to want to take care of their parents or grandparents.”

Grandma always comes first, but Punsalan makes sure to have a healthy balance between his grandmother and his other passions.

His lifestyle may not have started this way, but he has learned to embrace all the responsibilities that come with elderly care and share what he knows with the community.

You can follow Chris on his social media accounts: Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok.

Have a look at their adorable relationship in the video below:

@firstnamechris this would be impossible without my family #caregiver #hallmarkmovie #hallmark #caringacrossgenerationspartner ♬ original sound – Chris Punsalan

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