In May, Darlene Jasmine won the phone call no one needs to receive: her grandmother had COVID-19.
On 107.
“I thought, “Oh my God, that’s all, ” said Jasmine.” That’s what’s going to bring her down.”
That’s not the case. Anna Del Priore, who is a month before her 108th birthday, who was born the year the Titanic sank, which survived a case of Spanish flu a century ago, has defeated the coronavirus. In addition, it is still standing, walking and even dancing, to the delight of the brighton Gardens staff, a service apartment in Middletown operated through Sunrise Senior Living.
“I don’t like people,” said Laura Halle, Del Priore’s fitness care coordinator at Brighton Gardens. “It’s really amazing to see your journey.”
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Del Priore was born in Brooklyn to deaf parents who taught sign language. She is a seamstress and her late husband, Frank, a professional tango dancer.
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“He’s danced, he liked music,” said Jasmine, 66, who also lives in Middletown. “As soon as he listens to music, his foot begins to clap.”
At approximately age 6, Anna contracted the Spanish flu, the 1918 influenza pandemic, confirmed by the directors of Brighton Gardens. As with COVID-19, the Spanish flu attacked the respiratory system, albeit at a much more deadly rate.
“Perhaps this has something to do with her recovery?” said Jasmine, who noted that Anna’s younger sister, Helen Guzzone, 105, from Queens, New York, had also survived both diseases.
After Anna became COVID-19, Jasmine said: “She had a fever, she didn’t eat much, but she didn’t want a respirator. They didn’t have to send him to the hospital.”
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Now Del Priore has resumed his activities, adding swimming and sewing.
“I’m fine, ” he said. “I thank God, I’m alive.”
Jasmine called it a “miracle,” but added that a life of possible healthy choices had helped.
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“She moves constantly, ” said Jasmine. “We were walking in Brooklyn, at the grocery store, in the bakery. Every night, she would prepare a home-cooked meal from scratch. All Mediterranean food: olive oil, vegetables, fruits, nuts. It’s like the old peasant food they’re charging you so much for now.”
Del Priore doesn’t have the goal of braking.
“You’re still living, ” he said. “Dance makes you feel good. Me to stay healthy.”
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According to a gerontology that tracks such things, it is shown that two Americans aged 108 survived coronavirus and seven other Americans over the age of 107 or older did. Worldwide, the biggest proven to beat the disease is a 113-year-old woman in Spain.
Suffice it to say that Anna Del Priore does count the days.
“It’s a month younger than 108 and she gets up, gets her hair done, walks and dances,” said Halle, her fitness care coordinator. “For the rest of my life, I can say that I met and enjoyed those who came here and stayed in shape.”
Jerry Carino is a columnist for the Asbury Park Press network, and focuses on attracting others from Jersey Shore, inspiring stories and urgent issues. Contact him at [email protected].