A 107-year-old woman from New Jersey who survived a Case of Spanish Flu in 1918 has now survived her pandemic moment after defeating Covid-19.
Anna Del Priore, born in Brooklyn, who was only a month before age 108, was diagnosed with coronavirus in May, according to Asbury Park Press.
Following the news, Anna’s granddaughter, 66-year-old Darlene Jasmine, feared the worst.
She told the post, “I thought, ‘Oh my God, that’s all. That’s what’s going to bring her down.'”
But although Anna developed a fever and didn’t eat much, she didn’t want a fan and wasn’t admitted to the hospital.
Fortunately, she has now returned to her state and enjoys her favorite activities, such as swimming, dancing and sewing.
“I’m fine, ” said Anna. “I thank God, I’m alive.”
Born the year the Titanic sank, Anna lived a hectic life. Raised through deaf parents who taught her sign language, she contracted Spanish flu during the 1918 influenza pandemic, but recovered completely.
She later worked as a seamstress, while her late husband Frank was a tango dancer.
Today, Anna still dances as much as she can at Brighton Gardens, the assisted retirement home where she lives in Middletown, New Jersey.
“I danced, I enjoyed the music,” Jasmine said. “As soon as he listens to music, his foot begins to clap.”
Like Covid-19, the Spanish flu, which would have inflamed another 500 million people between February 1918 and April 1920, also attacked the respiratory system.
Darlene attributes her grandmother’s dual pandemic to nutrition and an active lifestyle.
“She moves constantly,” Jasmine says. “We were walking in Brooklyn, at the grocery store, in the bakery.
“Every night he prepares a home-cooked meal from scratch. All Mediterranean cuisine: olive oil, vegetables, fruits, nuts. It’s like the old peasant food you’re getting so much for now.
Anna is one of the few centenaries to have survived COVID-19, according to the gerontology cited through Asbury Park Press.
To date, the oldest user to defeat the coronavirus is a 113-year-old woman in Spain, she reports.
Well done Anna, an inspiration to all of us.
Featured Symbol Credit: Brighton Gardens, Middletown, New Jersey
Topics: Life News, Covid-19
Mary-Jane Wiltsher is an independent journalist committed to lifestyle and culture. Elsewhere, write for Stylist, Euronews, PHOENIX and What We Seee.