In a YouTube video with the title âI wasnât expecting this today. It turned out to be the worst day of my lifeâ Joey Daley sits across from his mother, Molly, in a fast-food restaurant in Dublin, Ohio.
As a camera records their conversation, Daley asks her if she knows who his mother is. Molly appears confused and asks him to repeat the question. After Daley presses her for an answer a few more times, his mother responds: âI donât know. Who is she?â
A minute later, Daley asks Molly with an audible trepidation in his voice, âWho am I?â
Daleyâs mother quickly answers that she doesnât know and a short silence follows.
After he drops his mother off at the nursing home where she lives, Daley breaks down in his car.
âHardest day of my life...when your mother doesnât know who you are. She knows my name but doesnât know who I am,â he said through tears. âI feel like she just died.â
was the sixth episode in a weekly YouTube series he began in January, to document his motherâs struggle with Lewy Body Dementia (LBD).
The emotional video struck a nerve with viewers, attracting more than two million views and thousands of comments. To date, Daley has , which have been viewed more than 80 million times.
In a conversation with CTVâs Your Morning on Wednesday, Daley explained why he decided to record his motherâs battle with dementia and share it with the public. He said he noticed his family and friends were having trouble grasping the magnitude of the impact of the disease when he tried to explain it to them. Thatâs when he realized they needed to see it for themselves, Daley said.
âWhen they see the videos they laugh, they cry, theyâre shocked,â he said. âThatâs what I went through and thatâs what caregivers and people who have dementia go through on a daily basis. I think once you see it, it helps people really understand what the disease is.â
Daley said he hopes his videos will help viewers understand dementia and the impact it can have on caregivers. He said people from around the world who have never even heard of the disease have started following his YouTube videos.
âTheyâre reconnecting with family members, fathers, mothers that they havenât spoken to in years some of them,â Daley shared. âItâs touching people in ways that we didnât think that it would.â
For the most part, Daley said Molly is aware when theyâre filming segments for the series. His mother knows theyâre trying to help others dealing with dementia with the videos, he said.
Molly was diagnosed with LBD approximately two and a half years ago, but Daley said he first noticed her difficulty comprehending things at work 10 to 12 years ago. He said her condition has progressively gotten worse in the past two years, but that she still has her good days.
âHer mind is really unravelling,â he said. âWhen Iâm walking down that hall getting ready to walk into her room I never know what Iâm going to walk into.â
As his motherâs dementia worsens, Daley said he has been forced to become stronger as her caregiver.
âThe most difficult part is watching her deteriorate on a daily basis. Each time Iâm with her I know that the next time is probably going to be a little bit worse,â Daley said.
Despite the difficulties, Daley said he cherishes the time he can still spend with his mother.
âThereâs still a lot of her personality that shines through,â he said. âThere are moments that I enjoy.â