Elderly Woman Reunited With Her Sister After 8 Years: 'Last Opportunity'

A woman has captured the emotions felt when her grandmother traveled over 500 miles so she could reunite with her elderly sister for what might be the last time.

Cæcilie Rybicki Ibsen, 26, posted footage from the trip on TikTok (@cillerybicki), showing her and her grandmother departing Sonderborg in Denmark to land in Copenhagen, before a connecting flight to reach Stockholm in Sweden.

Ibsen's grandmother, Lone Rybicki, 73, hadn't seen her older sister, Ingrid Jonsson, 89, for eight years as both of their husbands fell ill and subsequently passed away, before the COVID pandemic temporarily halted all travel plans.

Both senior women now have limited mobility, leaving them struggling to walk very far, but they were determined to meet up again and be reunited.

There are no age restrictions for traveling, however the CDC suggests that precautions can be taken in advance to ensure safe travel. Visiting a healthcare professional before the trip to check any possible health concerns is among the recommendations.

Since the video was posted on April 12, it has generated over 1.4 million views and more than 280,000 likes. Ibsen wrote in the viral post that they had to make the journey "before it was too late," as this could be one of the last chances the sisters get to spend time together.

Rybicki is the youngest of six siblings, and four of them moved to Sweden a long time ago to build their lives there. Traveling was no issue previously, but when one of her sisters became gravely ill in 2022, she passed away before Rybicki could say goodbye.

Ibsen told Newsweek that she took time off work to accompany her grandmother to Sweden, explaining that it was now or never.

"All of my grandmother's life she has traveled to Sweden to visit her sisters," she said. "They have always been very close.

"Last year, one of the sisters got very sick and my grandmother knew that if she had to see her one last time, it needed to be then. But as we were looking at flights, her sister took her last breath and passed away. She was devastated and heartbroken.

"Since then, she really wanted to go to Sweden and visit the last two of her sisters who are alive. But unfortunately, my grandmother is also sick and very fragile. She talked a lot about traveling but couldn't make the decision to go."

Ibsen recounted her grandmother's fear of making the long journey with her ailing health, but as soon as they landed in Copenhagen her excitement was undeniable.

Ibsen returned to Copenhagen for work, but her grandmother is staying in Sweden until May to allow the sisters around six weeks together.

"It's been 8 years since they last met. They hadn't seen each other all this time because there were a lot of things that got in the way. Both of their husbands have been sick with Alzheimer's and cancer and passed away.

"My grandmother told me that this visit has been different from any other time she visited. They've talked more about their lives and childhoods, almost like they're tying the knot.

"I think deep down they know that this might be the last opportunity to say things to each other and talk about things they hadn't spoken about sooner."

The heartwarming video has captured significant attention on TikTok, which Ibsen admits caught her by surprise. Many people have even shared stories about their own grandparents after feeling inspired by the clip.

Ibsen continued: "I didn't expect it to go viral when I posted it. People have been really nice and it's so touching that this story made so many people cry. I'm thankful that I got to share this."

Among the thousands of comments on the video, one person wrote: "Imagine how hard this goodbye was," and another user put: "crying my eyes out."

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