POPSUGAR UK

This Video of a Mom With Dementia Recognising Her Daughter Is a Glimmer of True Joy

25/02/2019 - 08:15 PM
Dementia Can Be Beautiful [1]

Dementia can be beautiful. Yesterday I took my mother for a ride to the beach. Taking her out of her element (my home, where she lives) can be confusing for her. Within the confusion there can be such beauty and sweet little surprises. I simply adore her. 💓

Posted by MJ Grant [2] on Sunday, January 27, 2019

Dementia can feel so tragic that it's hard to find any shred of joy in the disease. But in one short conversation, spoken completely in sign language between an older woman battling dementia and her adult daughter, a glimmer of hope shines brighter than all the sorrow surrounding their circumstance.

MJ Grant cares for her mother, who also happens to be deaf, and after a pleasant drive to the beach in Maine, she parked the car. MJ then began using American Sign Language to converse with her 76-year-old mother, Carmen, who didn't recognise her.

MJ started off by asking, "Where's MJ?"

Carmen, clearly confused, responded that she hadn't seen her in a long time. "Maybe travelling? Have you met her?"

MJ nodded and smiled, and their conversation went on a bit longer, with Carmen slowly making a connection.

"Did I give birth to you?" she asked, bringing her hands to her face amid the overwhelming realisation. They embrace and carry on, with Carmen acknowledging, "I'm your mother."

MJ thankfully captured the completely silent moment on video and shared it to Facebook a month ago in the hopes of shedding light on this struggle.

"Dementia can be beautiful," she wrote in a caption to the 2-and-a-half-minute video. "Taking her out of her element – my home, where she lives – can be confusing for her. Within the confusion there can be such beauty and sweet little surprises. I simply adore her."

With more than two million views so far, it's clear that this is a small look into a debilitating disease that is well worth watching.


Source URL
https://www.popsugar.co.uk/parenting/Woman-Dementia-Recognises-Daughter-Video-45846070