This Grandma With ALS Shared The Brilliant Way She Will Always Be Able To Read To Her Grandkids
“I know it’s not the same as having a little one in your lap, but I can guarantee my arms will still be around them.”
A grandma on TikTok is going viral for her sweet and brilliant idea to ensure all her grandkids know just how much she loves them.
Della, who was diagnosed with ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) in 2023 and has since been documenting her journey, posted a video on TikTok that has gone viral.
“So one of the hardest things to admit that I'm going to lose is the ability to be with grandchildren,” Della admitted in her brutally honest video.
“I have always envisioned myself as having ‘Grandma Camp’ with my 10 little redheaded grandchildren. Yes, I said 10! Painting rocks, building with toys, and reading books, and to lose that has honestly been one of the hardest parts of this,” she said.
Della wanted to make sure she left a lasting impression and let her grandkids know just how much love she has for them.
“So what I decided to do ... is I have gathered up a whole bunch of some of my favorite books ... what I've done is, I videotape myself reading them, and then I've put that on a private YouTube channel and made a QR code.”
“And then I made these little stickers to go inside the book so that when my grandchildren take the book, this will go inside. They can scan the QR code, and they'll be brought to a video of me reading it to them so they can flip through the book and listen and see me reading,” she added.
“I know it's not the same as having a little one in your lap, but I can guarantee my arms will still be around them,” she said wistfully.
The QR code stickers are titled, “Grandma’s Bookshelf,” which is painfully adorable, and we are not okay.
People in the comments were absolutely touched and showed appreciation for Della’s efforts.
“Grandma camp, why is life so unfair. These precious memories of you will be absolutely priceless to them someday. You’ll live on through these books,” one person said.
A mom also commented, “This is just precious. What a keepsake, not just for your grandchildren, but also your children.”
“What a wonderful idea! My sister had ALS and that was the hardest part for her…. Not being able to hug and hold the grands. But she did as long as she could and did it longer than ever predicted,” another shared.
According to ALS.org, motor neurons reach from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles throughout the body. The progressive degeneration of the motor neurons in ALS eventually leads to their demise.
When the motor neurons die, the ability of the brain to initiate and control muscle movement is lost. When voluntary muscle action is progressively affected, people may lose the ability to speak, eat, move, and breathe.
“ALS is stealing my ability to be a grandma, but I have an idea to ensure my grandkids ‘know’ me,” the video is captioned. And what an amazing idea that is! Sending all the well wishes to Della.
