This is the touching moment a 78-year-old woman with dementia first meets her newborn granddaughter after eight months without seeing her family.

Cacilda Barizon Maio, who lives in a care home in the city of Ribeirao Preto, in the south-eastern Brazilian state of Sao Paulo, had been unable to see her family due to the coronavirus pandemic.

However, eight months later, she was able to cradle her one-month-old granddaughter, Maite, while wearing protective gear at the care home on 6th October.

Suelen Borelli Lima Giacomini, who works at the home, revealed that the visit was allowed as an exception, as the elderly resident had frequently requested to meet her newborn granddaughter.

The nurse told Newsflash: “She entered just before the pandemic took hold.

“The elderly woman has three children and one of them got pregnant. The woman’s only granddaughter lives in the United States and the remaining ones are all men.”

Suelen revealed she would show Cacilda photos that the newborn’s mother, Daniela, sent her via WhatsApp and that Cacilda was impatient to meet the new addition to the family.

Suelen told Newsflash: “The elderly woman said she really wanted to meet her and then she started to cry.

“Her daughter got in touch with me, crying, asking if it would be possible because we’ve been closed to external visits since 14th March.”

Suelen worked with the team at the care home to set up the meeting in a way that guaranteed everyone’s safety, given the at-risk nature of the home’s residents.

“I organised this moment with the family. I confess that I still get emotional to this day when I relate it.

“It was a very emotional, affectionate and valuable moment.”

Suelen has revealed that the pandemic has taken its toll on the residents’ mental health and that Daniela’s and her daughter’s visit brought a much-needed uplift to the care home.

She said: “The old people’s home isn’t the same after that visit. It was something that brought happiness and cheer, things that the pandemic had been putting an end to.”

Cacilda’s words when she was united with little Maite were: “Oh, how beautiful my little granddaughter!”

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