94-Year-Old Woman Makes a Splash on Slip-N-Slide, and the Video Becomes Viral Sensation

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A 94-year-old-woman showed that enjoying some good old fashioned summertime fun isn’t exclusive to the young. Staff at her senior living community surprised residents with a makeshift slip ‘n slide, and when they posted a video of the lady sliding down, it became an internet sensation.

Millie Uphold is the 94-year-old resident at Oaks at Northpointe in Zanesville, Ohio, who suggested they organize a slip ‘n slide event for their senior health and fitness day in June 2019. “She actually wanted to go parasailing,” Jacqueline Altier, executive director at the Oaks, explained, according to Good Morning America. “But we thought she meant slip-and-sliding, so that’s why we put it together.”

After getting the bold suggestion, staff “immediately started talking about how we could do this safely,” Altier said, PEOPLE reported. “We went with a duck because of the head, that would provide support for the people who wouldn’t be stable in a seated position without that support. We used gait belts. We chose a location close to the curb so that way we could transfer the patient onto the duck.”

The slip ‘n slide event was a success. A video showing Uphold sliding down while strapped to an inflatable duck got over 8 million views on Facebook. The older woman can be seen laughing and exclaiming “I love it!” while other residents are cheering her on. It’s a delight to watch!

Watch the video of Uphold slip-n-sliding:

Altier told PEOPLE that the 94-year-old went down the slide three times. “I have three different videos of Millie on the slide, and as she’s coming down she’s yelling, ‘I love it! I love this!’” the community director said. “She said the only thing she'd change is she wanted to go down the whole hill, but we could only go down half of it.”

Uphold isn’t one for letting age get in the way of her “adventurous” side. Altier told Fox 7, “She’s always looking for opportunities to get outdoors and try new things.” Back in February, they even put together a sledding event at the 94-year-old’s suggestion. “Don’t just sit like a bump on a log—you gotta go do something!” Uphold said.

As for the other seniors who participated, apparently, they loved it. “They said that the slip-and-slide event brought back their childhood,” Altier told PEOPLE. “They said it reminded them of the good times that they used to have with their families and their kids, and when they were kids. They had a blast.”

According to Altier, The Oaks is the type of residential home where they “want to be a part of helping our residents live the absolute best life that they possibly can while they’re in our care.”

However, no one was expecting Uphold to become such a viral sensation. “We’re completely shocked. I said, ‘Oh my gosh! Millie’s famous!’” Altier explained. “One day, when we were coming down the hall, [Millie] stopped me, and she goes, ‘I don’t know if you know this, but I’m famous. So I’m gonna start charging for my signature.’”