102-year-old woman who survived cancer and Spanish Flu beats Covid for second time
A 102-year-old New York woman who was born during the 1918 Spanish Flu has now also survived coronavirus – twice.
Angelina Friedman, who lives in a nursing home in Mohegan Lake, New York, and is also a cancer survivor, first tested positive for Covid-19 in March.
"She was never really symptomatic the first time around," her daughter Joanne Merola told NBC. "The worst symptom she had was a fever that lasted maybe 10 days."
Ms Friedman spent a week at a local hospital before she was transferred back to her nursing home and remained in isolation until 20 April, when she tested negative for the virus.
But shortly before her 102nd birthday in October, Ms Friedman contracted the virus a second time, and this time round she got seriously ill.
"She had a cough, she was lethargic, she had a fever again," Ms Merola said of her mother's second diagnosis. "The first time you wouldn't know she was sick."
The centenarian returned home from the hospital in November, after she once more tested negative for the virus.
Ms Friedman was born on a passenger ship taking immigrants from Italy to New York City. Her mother passed away giving birth to her, amid the Spanish Flu epidemic which killed more than 50 million people globally.
"My mom has been through so much in her life," Ms Merola said of her mother, who has outlived 10 siblings and her husband. "You just can't give up. You have to fight. My mother's got the will to stay alive as I've never seen before."
According to John Hopkins’ Coronavirus Resource Centre, about 1.5 million people have died from the virus and a total of 65 million people across the globe have so far been infected.
About 14 million cases have been recorded in the US, followed by India on 9.5 million cases.
The Covid-19 virus, which hits the respiratory system, is proven to be particularly dangerous for adults over the age of 65 and those with pre-existing medical conditions, such as cancer and diabetes.
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