Nursing Home Threatens To Kick 96-Year-Old Resident Out For 'Partying Too Hard’
Halfpoint | Shutterstock Lillian Droniak is a 96-year-old grandma, but she’s definitely not the typical elderly maternal figure you think of who bakes cookies and knits. This has put her at odds with her Connecticut nursing home.
To keep everyone safe and healthy, nursing homes have rules they put in place for their residents, as well as federal laws they must follow as an institution. As well-intentioned as these rules might be, they are seriously cramping the style of the woman who is lovingly known across social media as Grandma Droniak.
Grandma Droniak really likes to party, but her nursing home thinks her festivities have gotten more than a little excessive.
Droniak has become a superstar online, where she boasts 15.1 million followers on TikTok and 4 million followers on Instagram. Her Instagram bio declares, “Yes, I can be your grandma, too,” and it seems like a lot of her fans have taken that to heart as they fiercely defend her right to party.
In a recent video, Grandma Droniak shared some upsetting news about a letter she received from her nursing home. “It says, ‘You’re getting kicked out if you don’t stop the parties,’” she read.
“Parties are not allowed, and you cannot serve alcohol to other residents,” the letter continued. “Letter serves as a formal warning.” Droniak didn’t seem too worried about that as she tore the letter up and exclaimed, “I can do what I want!”
While doing her hair and makeup, she went on to explain what she considered to be her rights. “I pay $12,000 a month to live here,” she said. “I can party if I want to. My girlfriends are coming over tonight. We’re gonna drink and gossip. It’s not a party, but we do get rowdy.”
It looks like Grandma Droniak’s party went off without a hitch despite her nursing home’s concerns.
She insisted that she simply had no control over her need to enjoy life. (And, at almost 100-years-old, why should she?) “I can’t help it,” Droniak stated. “I love to party. You can’t stop me.”
The nursing home must have decided to look the other way and let Droniak have her fun, or perhaps she and her friends kept the rowdiness to a minimum. Either way, she shared a triumphant video the next day which said, “Hungover from last night’s party. My nursing home can’t stop me [from] partying through the last chapter of life.”
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Grandma Droniak is not just a grandmother to her millions of followers, but also to her real grandson Kevin, who spoke with Upworthy about the fame she’s found. “I realized this at a young age because she has always been a comedian to my friends and me,” he said of her sense of humor.
“However, in 2020 during COVID, that’s when I got her onto TikTok and helped her set it up,” Kevin recounted. “Now it’s a fun hobby for her to connect with fans/her ‘internet grandchildren.’” Those fans even include celebrities like Justin Bieber and Snoop Dogg.
The nursing home is just doing what they think is best for other residents, but they could be depriving Grandma Droniak of something important.
It makes sense that the facility administrators would not be thrilled with alcohol being served, or with loud noise regularly coming from a resident’s room. But … how much harm can a woman who’s almost a centenarian actually cause?
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In a 2020 study, researchers concluded that spending time with friends plays an important role in boosting older adults’ mood. It can be hard to do this after moving into a nursing home, though, because the person might live farther away from loved ones and feel isolated. The fact that Droniak’s friends are willing to come and visit seems like a good thing.
Plus, she is paying $12,000 a month to stay at the facility. If they aren’t providing her with free room and board, maybe they could lighten up and let her do what she wants to in her own room as long as it’s not dangerous. A landlord wouldn’t have that kind of control over an apartment tenant, after all.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.
