The elderly remain the most at risk community during the coronavirus pandemic, and many of the seniors in our lives have succumbed to the disease. But there are pockets of inspiring, and, some would say, miraculous recoveries.
Meet 101-year-old Angelina Friedman. She was born during the Spanish Flu pandemic in 1918 on a passenger ship headed from Italy to New York City. Sadly, her mother died while giving birth. In March of this year, Friedman was diagnosed with the coronavirus after going to the hospital for a minor procedure. After receiving her much more dire diagnosis, she remained at the hospital for a week before returning to the North Westchester Restorative Therapy and Nursing Center, located in Lake Mohegan, New York. About a month passed and on April 21, Friedman finally tested negative for the virus.
"She was a fighter and she actually pretty quickly rebounded," said Amy Elba, an administrator at the nursing home. "She’s back to herself, she’s knitting as we speak."
And that's not all. In her lifetime Friedman has also survived cancer, miscarriages, internal bleeding, and sepsis. Her husband succumbed to cancer.
This is Angelina Friedman
— Goodable (@Goodable) April 28, 2020
She's 101-years old.
During her life, she has survived cancer, multiple miscarriages, internal bleeding, sepsis and as an infant, she survived the Spanish flu.
She just beat coronavirus.#Hope pic.twitter.com/NVP7Sfhn37
An uplifting story for anyone looking for hope. 101-year-old Angelina Friedman survived the 1918 influenza pandemic and then a century later survived the #Coronavirus. In between, she overcame the challenges life threw her way.
— Senator Toni Atkins (@SenToniAtkins) April 29, 2020
She’s the definition of a survivor! https://t.co/tXw0cDRj9M
Angelina Friedman, a New York woman who survived the Spanish influenza pandemic, cancer, miscarriages, internal bleeding and sepsis, has beaten COVID-19 at the age of 101. pic.twitter.com/rRBd765pSt
— Victor Mochere (@VictorMochere) April 29, 2020
Friedman is one of 11 siblings. As you can guess, she is the last surviving.
“She is not human,” her daughter Joanne Merola told WPIX. “She has super human DNA.”
I'll have what she's having!