A heartwarming video has captured the bittersweet reaction of a woman with dementia who forgets her grandchildren and finds out she’s a grandmother each time for the “first time.”
Josie Hunt, 65, was diagnosed with Korsakoff syndrome—an alcohol-induced form of dementia—in October 2020.
It means she struggles with short-term memory and forgets she has grandchildren. So whenever her daughter, Jade Mead, 35, takes her children Marli, 3, and Lottie, 3 months, to see their grandmother, Ms. Hunt always says, “Jade, you didn’t tell me you had children.”
Like any other grandparent, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren and loves cuddling Marli and Lottie like it’s the first time she’s met them.
“It’s a bittersweet moment when she sees the kids,” Ms. Mead said.
According to Ms. Mead, Ms. Hunt doesn’t even remember that her other daughter has a child.
“It’s a strange one as she has all her long-term memory still,” said Ms. Mead, a fitness coach in Perth, Australia.
Ms. Hunt developed dementia after drinking alcohol following a gastric sleeve operation in February 2020, Ms. Mead said.
Her condition deteriorated quickly, and she was diagnosed with Korsakoff syndrome in October that year.
“I believe it stemmed from the gastric sleeve operation,” Ms. Mead said.
Ms. Hunt began looking more frail, and the family wasn’t aware that she was consuming alcohol.
It’s believed the alcohol consumption caused a lack of nutrients to the brain—causing her brain damage and memory loss, according to Ms. Mead.
“She wasn’t making any sense,” Ms. Mead said.
Ms. Mead has been told her mom’s condition shouldn’t decline any further for a while and says she’s able to see the positives in the moments her mother meets her children each time.
“She’s always been very loving,” Ms. Mead said of her mom. “My 3-year-old doesn’t ask any questions, but I just tell her ‘Nanny forgets.'”
Due to her condition, Ms. Hunt is currently living in a supported living home.
