When teenager Zach Belden learned that his 80-year-old Grandma Betty had been diagnosed with cancer, he quickly set up an Instagram account to celebrate her spirit and allow those close to the family to follow her battle against the disease.
Little did he know that Betty’s spunky attitude and talent for taking selfies would soon gain her more than 20,000 followers—or “friends,” as she calls them—including Pharrell Williams, who saw her bust a move to one of his catchy singles:
“I’ve been around for 80 years,” Betty, also a great-grandmother of six, told ABC News. “Maybe they’ll learn something good from me,” she said of her fans. How to enjoy life, for starters.
Zach, for his part, has been bowled over by the response. “It’s a joy, to see a big smile on her face everyday when I tell her she has another hundred followers,” he wrote in an update on the account. “Let’s continue to spread the word that cancer CAN be fought, and being happy while fighting it most certainly possible.”
We couldn’t agree more.
H/T ABC | Photo via grandmabetty33/Instagram