Eastbourne girl and gran with dementia go viral with heartwarming TikTok videos

Orla Phipps, who has been caring for her gran Agnes during lockdown, has made many smile with her videos which show their strong bond.

Agnes, who is 86, has dementia – but that does not stop her living life to the full.

Orla said, “The first one that got attention, I was playing Animal Crossing and she lit up and found it really interesting.

“I thought that was it really. But I kept posting things. At first it was just for me and my family.

“Then there was one which really blew up, of her colouring in. We were doing colouring together and people were quite touched by it.

“People have shared their ideas and given us their stories and things to do, they have helped us a lot.”

TikTok is an app where people share up to one minute-long videos of whatever they like. It has surged in popularity over the lockdown period, and not just with young people.

Orla said, “It’s a nice community. We have older people and people whose family members have dementia.

“It’s reassuring people whose loved ones have been diagnosed and they were really scared and worried. People say the way I act with her has helped them communicate with their loved ones.

“There’s also kids asking what dementia is in the comments. It’s a chance to educate people.”

Agnes was officially diagnosed with dementia two years ago. Orla, who is 20, said, “She’s much more care-free now than she ever was.

“It’s nice to have some positivity, you don’t often seen positivity portrayed with dementia. It’s a different approach and it’s working.”

The film student has been caring for her grandma mostly on her own throughout the pandemic at her home in Langney.

Before lockdown, Agnes had a bad fall and was in Milton Grange care home for six weeks while she recovered.

Orla said she wasn’t talking or smiling throughout that period, and the family worried she wouldn’t be the same again.

“She’s improved so much since,” said Orla, “She’s a joy now.”

Orla now has more than 55,000 followers from all over the world, and millions of views on her videos.

But she said, “The comments mean more to me, the stories and messages from people.

“If it helps one person. It can be really scary adapting to dementia. It’s just nice having support and supporting people back.”

Her favourite video is one where she tells her gran she loves her and Agnes reacts with pleasant surprise.

Another sweet video shows Orla playing Agnes’ favourite song, and they both sing along.

Orla wanted to thank Memory Lane in Eastbourne, which has been ‘really great’ support throughout this, particularly with live singalongs for people.

To find out more about the charity, visit memorylaneeastbourne.co.uk

And to see more of Orla’s videos, visit tiktok.com/@orlaphipps

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