Japanese Grandma with Alzheimer’s Remembers Special Memory After Holding Granddaughter

Setsuko Harmon, a 77-year-old Alzheimer’s patient and first-time grandmother, is becoming viral online after her daughter, Christine Stone, posted several videos of her online.

One in particular that got many netizens feel all warm inside is the clip where she sings an old Japanese childhood song to her granddaughter, Sadie Mae Stone, who was born on October 11.

The video, which was taken when Setsuko and her husband, Robert Harmon, visited Stone in October, showed the caring grandmother gently holding her granddaughter in her arms as she sings an old Japanese song – “Donguri Korokoro” – to her while she sleeps.

The heartwarming moment was really special not only for Setsuko, but for Stone as well.

“It really is special to watch her sing it to Sadie because I remember her singing it to me,” the 39-year-old office manager from Florence, South Carolina, told ABC News. “She would sing all these Japanese songs … when she would wash my hair in the shower.”

“I thought it was pretty special that she can remember songs from way back when; over 30 years ago.”

Setsuko, who moved from Japan to the United States when she married her husband more than 46 years ago, began showing signs of Alzheimer’s disease in 2007, according to Today. She was then officially diagnosed with the condition about eights years ago.

“She just started showing signs. She would drive places and forget where she was going. She’d drive the car until she was out of gas,” Stone told ABC News. It was at that time, the family discovered that she had short-term memory loss.

At first, Stone admitted that her father would often have a hard time to bring her mother to South Carolina. But now that Sadie is born, it somehow gave her the motivation to travel and see her.

“Sometimes my dad would have a hard time getting her here [to South Carolina.] But now they’ve been coming here every week. My dad will say, ‘Let’s go see Christine’s baby!’ And she comes excited.'”

Stone began uploading videos of her mother online in June. She aims to help raise awareness about Alzheimer’s disease, a type of dementia that causes serious problems with the person’s memory, thinking and greatly affects behavior, as explained on ALZ.org.

She also wants to show all of her videos to Sadie when she grows up and show her how much her grandmother loved her and how she got very excited when she came to this world.

“The original video I made so Sadie would be able to see how much her grandmother loved her and how excited she was for her to arrive. Originally, I filmed it just for us, because the likelihood of my mom still being around when my daughter is 18 is slim to none,” Stone told Today.

She also wants to show all of her videos to Sadie when she grows up and show her how much her grandmother loved her and how she got very excited when she came to this world.

“The original video I made so Sadie would be able to see how much her grandmother loved her and how excited she was for her to arrive. Originally, I filmed it just for us, because the likelihood of my mom still being around when my daughter is 18 is slim to none,” Stone told Today.

The first video of Setsuko that went viral is when Stone told her mother that she was pregnant. Her mother would often be filled with joy every time she tells her she’s expecting.

Also, the compilation video of when she finally meets Sadie for the first time – when Stone was still at the hospital and when they were at home.

Featured image via YouTube / Christine Stone, (right)