Grandma with ALS shares the sweet way she’ll always be able to read to her grandkids

Even though Grandma Della is devastated she won’t be able to live her dream of “Grandma Camp,” where all ten of her grandchildren come and stay with her, she had a brilliant and touching idea to ensure all of her grandkids knew that they were loved by her and she was there for them, even with her ALS diagnosis. And she shared her brilliant idea on her TikTok channel, which quickly went viral. 

ALS stands for “amyotrophic lateral sclerosis,” a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. It’s a devastating diagnosis currently affecting about 30,000 people in the U.S. alone. 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.

Della was diagnosed with ALS on April 20, 2023, according to her TikTok, and she’s been sharing her journey with her followers ever since, bringing awareness to the disease and documenting her life.

“ALS is stealing my ability to be a grandma, but I have an idea to ensure my grandkids ‘know’ me,” the video is captioned. At the beginning of her video, Della said, “One of the hardest things to admit that I’m going to lose [because of ALS] is the ability to be with grandchildren.”

“I had always envisioned myself having ‘Grandma Camp’ with my ten little red-headed grandchildren … painting rocks, building with toys, and reading books,” she explained.

Della shared that she will be creating a video of her reading her grandchildren’s favorite picture books for a private YouTube channel, creating QR code stickers, and placing them inside each of the children’s copies of the books. That way, all her children have to do is scan the codes for her grandchildren, she can read to them no matter what and they’ll be able to see her spending time with them. 

The QR code stickers are titled, “Grandma’s Bookshelf,” and it is absolutely adorable.

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.

Generating QR codes to use as keepsakes is becoming popular in recent years—people are even putting them on headstones so others who visit cemeteries can learn that person’s life story. You can also use QR codes on keychains, portraits, plaques, necklaces, and other items that link to memorial videos or websites, too.

“My kindergarten teacher friends will appreciate this,” Della mentioned in the video, but I feel like her grandchildren and children will appreciate the gesture even more. 

Della concluded her video saying, “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.”