- Jason van Genderen, an Australian filmmaker, has found new ways to make every day count while caring for his mom, Hendrika, who has both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia.
- To make Mother’s Day extra special, he decided to create an at-home version of the Sydney Aquarium, where they frequently visited as a family during his childhood.
- When the aquarium show finally started, “Oma” couldn’t help but gasp in pleasant surprise.
Caring for someone who has memory problems can be challenging, but as discovered by Australian filmmaker Jason van Genderen, you find ways to live in the moment.
Jason’s 87-year-old mom, Hendrika, has both Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. But he has been making every day count for Oma, as she’s known to her family.
He has kept creating new ways to bring her joy even during the pandemic.
When Oma missed going shopping, Jason recreated her favorite supermarket at home:
And he was not about to let Mother’s Day pass without making it extra special.
Remembering how he had used to visit the aquarium with his parents during his childhood, he decided to recreate it at home.
So he enlisted the help of his wife and kids to hand parchment paper inside the large windows of their house. He then used two projectors to show a video of tropical fish gently swimming through the water.
What a beautiful set-up! After everything was in place, he brought Oma outside and made sure she was in a comfortable viewing position.
And when the show finally started, Oma couldn’t help but gasp in pleasant surprise.
“Jason, I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s very beautiful!” she exclaimed.
As she watched the gorgeous sight, Jason regaled her with all the times their family had toured the Sydney Aquarium.
Oma did not remember it the next day, but Jason said it was all worthwhile just to see her smile.
And since they made sure to record the magical moment, Oma can relive it as often as she wishes!
It was such a moving and thoughtful surprise.
Share the stunning sight Jason made for his mom to inspire others to make the most of their time at home with their family.
Source: inspire MORE