Wife with dementia surprises husband with one crystal-clear memory in her final days

Watching loved ones slowly fade away from dementia is a heartbreaking and grueling process. Finding the silver lining in the devastation is not easy--but TikTok user Bridgette (@bmilam1) was able to find it by sharing the love story between her grandpa and grandma during her dementia battle.

The couple shared a loving phrase that they often said to each other based on Doris Day's song "A Bushel and a Peck". Her grandpa would say, "A bushel and a peck, a hug around the neck," to his wife, and she would finish it by saying, "To the moon! Bridgette shared three sweet clips that make up a montage on TikTok showing them saying the phrase to one another during different points of her dementia battle.

"Dementia tried to take everything away, but she never forgot her part- bushel and a peck, a hug around the neck…….and to the moon! 🌙 #truelove #dementia #andtothemoon," she captioned the video.

In the first, they are standing next to each other during healthier times. Her husband has his arm wrapped around her shoulder as he says, "A bushel and a peck, a hug around the neck..." to which her grandma energetically responds, "To the moon!"

In the second clip, they are sitting in a doctor's office. Her grandpa is sitting in a chair as he utters his part, and this time she is sitting in an exam chair--but she is able to give an emphatic, "To the moon!"

In the final clip, her grandma's condition has worsened and she is laying in bed. Her husband is leaning down towards her, and when he gently says to her "A bushel and a peck, a hug around the neck...", she responds with a weaker "To the moon!" It is at the end of her dementia battle, and her husband beams that she still remembers.

"One thing dementia didn't take away from her was her love for him," she wrote in the video. "She was able to say this on her last days. This is what true love looks like. Forever thankful he loved her through her hardest days."

The tender video got a resounding emotional. response on TikTok. "I think she made it to the moon <3," one viewer wrote. Another added, "This made me ugly cry."

When one TikToker commented, "He is so strong 😭," Bridgette replied, "He truly is so strong. He loved her so much …. 🥺💗." She responded to another TikToker who wrote, "they’ll be dancing on the moon one day :(," writing "This comment 🥺 they loved to dance."

She also added, more about her grandma's battle in the comment section. "My mamaw only remembered her husband and me. However she didn’t actually recognize me.. we just constantly talked about me, lol." She later shared, "I was the only grandkid too. She never forgot me or her husband. He was her true love."

In a final note about her grandma's last moments, she responded, "We held her face and hands while she took her last breath. It was heartbreaking, but such an honor to be by her side. 🥺💗...She never forgot who her husband was! Their love story was beautiful….. life feels so sad right now. I know he is not okay yet either."

Since her passing, Bridgette has continued to share more caring moments between her grandparents. She shared another montage of how patiently and gently her grandpa cared for her grandma.

"Forever thankful my mamaw had someone who was so patient and loved her through the hard days. I lost my mamaw and he lost the love of his life…. I miss her. #dementiaawareness #imissher #dementiasucks," she captioned the video.

Although she lost her battle with dementia, their love is something that continues to live on and inspire others.❤️