Watch the heartwarming video below.

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A lot of people think that their parents are a more or less permanent fixture in their lives. Good parents will be there for their kids 24/7, 365 days a year with no breaks in-between and nothing compares to the love that a mother shows her children. After all, she carried them for nine months in her womb and nothing will change the fact that she has a strong bond with her children.

But that presence can often mean that children start taking their parents for granted and thinking that they will always be there anyway. That’s when the children have grown up and left home to start their own lives, visiting the folks or at least calling them is something for tomorrow or next week.

But the fact of the matter is that people get old. And old people are more prone to accidents or illnesses, any one of which could mean a permanent goodbye without having had the chance to tell them how much you love them.

Fortunately, one mother got to witness that love for herself when her two sons conspired to give her a surprise birthday bash that she will never forget.

Helen DeJohn’s last couple of years have been quite challenging with a few health scares sending her in and out of the hospital in Sicklerville, New Jersey. Yet she has managed to stay strong throughout it all. After all, she’s a breast cancer and colon cancer survivor and she’s suffered two strokes in her lifetime. To say that she has a strong will to live is an understatement.

Yet she wasn’t getting any younger so her two sons, Anthony and Carl D’Argenzio, decided to do something extra-special for her on her 87th birthday.

Anthony, the eldest, hadn’t even seen his mother in the past three years, but he worked with Carl to surprise their mother at the Sakura Japanese Steakhouse where the family is a frequent customer. The staff even helped out and kitted Anthony in a chef’s uniform so that he could bring the food to his mother.

Helen at first didn’t have a clue what was happening, but once she recognized her son’s face, she couldn’t help but cry and just stare at her son. The heartwarming clip then shows him going around the table to comfort her.

This video is a poignant reminder of just how much our parents, particularly our mother, have sacrificed for our sake. It would do well for us to appreciate them constantly while they’re still here and not just on Mother’s Day or their birthdays. They definitely deserve it, and so do you.