Woman shares grandfather's first day at assisted living facility and people can't get enough of him

Going into an assisted living facility in old age can be a bit difficult for some people to start a new life and that is why this woman decided to record her granddad's first day at the facility. Brianna Patz—who goes by @briannapatz on TikTok—shared her grandfather's first day at the facility and asked for support from her followers. People on the internet started to root for 88-year-old Jerry Roszak.

The video begins with Roszak walking into the facility and as soon as he looks at Brianna, he starts smiling. The text overlay reads, "Please be kind to him." The video was captioned, "First day of assisted living. I hope he makes many friends." The video garnered 35.5 million views on the social media platform. People were quite emotional after seeing the elderly man walking into the assisted living facility. @sammytheasian2 commented, "I love him! My mom was nervous to go into assisted living but got involved in activities and made a lot of friends! Now I have to schedule my calls because she's busy hanging with her BFFs, Carol and Mary." @ummmheyouu wrote, "Please know as an assisted living worker of 12+ years.... he'll always have someone looking out for him."

@gemmss shared, "Hope he had a wonderful first day and met many beautiful people. My grandpa has been living in his for a year but we go every day to see him." @crabbstr expressed, "I work at the assisted living my papa lives at. He was very reserved all his life but has made so many friends. He loves it there. We have some residents as the 'welcome committee' to help them find."

In a follow-up video, the grandfather is seen walking toward an elderly man and woman sitting on a table. He slowly goes and sits with them. The text overlay read, "He made friends." The video was captioned, "He made friends with a couple and has been eating dinner with them. Slowly adjusting….everyone has been great so far!" People on the platform were happy for the man. @shellmcgx commented, "Oh my goodness, why are old people so precious? His smiling face!" @dianamarie0409 expressed, "Grandpa Jerry, just when I stopped crying from your other video." @wearethemidnighttokers shared, "He's out grandpa now and we have to protect this man at all costs. More updates, please!" @JMDus wrote, "The turning back to let you know he's ok."

Roszak told TODAY that his wife passed away in January and they had been married for 67 years. He moved into the facility on September 6, 2024, after his daughters were worried about him living alone in Milwaukee County. His granddaughter, Patz, was also concerned about her grandfather entering a new environment. "I knew he would make friends because he's a pretty bubbly," Patz said. However, as he stays independently at the assisted living facility, he can come and go as he likes.

Talking about the facility, Roszak said, "It's become a nice place to rendezvous. You walk down the hall and people say, 'Good morning' and 'Hello,' so it's very friendly—you can even talk politics and no one gets excited about it ... if you feel strongly about one candidate and it's not yours, we talk it over and say, 'OK.' No arguments, ever." Moreover, he always has company at mealtimes. Patz shared that sending her grandpa to the facility felt like his first day of school. "You hope they have a good day and make friends and no one is mean to them. I wanted to make sure they accepted him," she said. She also added that she remembers him attending her elementary school events.

You can follow Brianna Patz (@briannapatz) on TikTok for more content on her grandpa and her life.