Woman shares ‘pure’ moment her 93-year-old grandfather with Alzheimer’s watches her play piano

‘I could watch this forever,’ one viewer writes

Woman shares video of her 93-year-old grandfather with Alzheimer’s enjoying listening to her play the piano (TikTok / @sheelaawe)

A woman is reminding people to cherish the time spent with loved ones with a video of herself playing the piano for her 93-year-old grandfather, who has Alzheimer’s.

Sheela Awe, a content creator based in Los Angeles, California, who goes by the username @sheelaawe on social media, recently uploaded the video of her grandfather’s reaction to her music on TikTok.

In the heartwarming clip, in which Awe revealed that the 93-year-old does not remember who she is, she can be seen playing Bach’s Prelude in CMajor on the piano as her grandfather opens the door to the room to see where the music is coming from.

After watching briefly from the doorway, her grandfather moves to stand closer to the piano, with Awe noting in the video captions that he “seems to be enjoying it”.

The video then captured the moment that Awe’s grandpa gave her a thumbs up in response to her playing, before he settled into a nearby chair to continue listening to the music, where he then fell asleep.

“It’s moments like these. Cherish your loved ones and make each moment count. Time is precious…” Awe captioned the video.

On Instagram, where she also shared the emotional interaction, Awe added that, although her grandfather “doesn’t know my name, where I live or who I am”, the video shows the pair “sharing a moment of happiness”.

“This is us, sharing a moment of happiness, where memory doesn’t have to play a part in the experience,” she wrote. “Life is too short y’all. Make space for love and cherish the present moment with your loved ones.”

Since uploading the video to TikTok, where it has been viewed more than 9.8m times, thousands of people have shared their emotional responses to the interaction.

“Girl you made me cry. This was such a pure interaction. I hope you both have more moments like this,” one person commented.

Another said: “These are sweet moments that should be cherished forever. His brain may not remember it but his heart will!”

“This absolutely warmed my heart,” someone else wrote.

The video also prompted numerous comments from viewers who shared their own experiences with relatives with Alzheimer’s, with one viewer writing: “Thank you for this. I lost my grandfather earlier this year (he was 93 and had Alzheimer’s). This made me happy.”

The Independent has contacted Awe for comment.