Last updated on December 31st, 2020 at 09:37 am
This is the emotional moment a grandmother with severe dementia suddenly remembered how to sing a children’s song as soon as her great grandson was placed into her arms.
Maria Guadalupe Aguilera’s Alezheimer’s diagnosis has meant that she can no longer remember many of her family member’s names – but holding great grandson, Oliver, prompted a spark that took her back to the past.
Eighty-eight-year-old Maria was filmed singing the children’s song “El Chorito” by Cri-Cri to Oliver, which is the song she would sing to Oliver’s mother, Elena Quitero, when she was a child.
Elena, 31, from Oceanside, California, was so taken aback by how simply holding her young son would ignite her grandmother’s memory to sing childhood songs.
Elena said: “Elena said: “I introduced her to my son and her face lit up.
“This was the song she always sang to me as a child.
“I honestly couldn’t hold back the tears.”
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Having captured the moment at her family’s home, in Vista, California, on September 9, Elena explained that simply holding Oliver, who is one-and-a-half years old, initially made Maria light up.
When Elena asked Maria if she remembered any of the songs from her childhood, it prompted her grandmother – who even forgets Elena on occasions – to begin her beautiful rendition of the children’s song.
Elena added: “It made me remember some of my favorite moments with her, of her singing and playing with me.
“Dementia and Alzheimer’s are a very painful disease – maybe not physically, but definitely emotionally for the family.
“Some people say that the person is no longer there, but they are.
“Love them as much, if not more, than you did before, and be patient, because they may not be the same.
“I have heard that music and babies help people with dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and I truly believe that this video proves it.”
Story courtesy of T&T Creative Media