These Super Grannies Came Out On Top Battling Coronavirus

It was considered an uphill battle, but these elderly women fought back and came out smiling

V. Kumara Swamy Published Apr 2, 2020 10:21:52 IST
2020-04-02T10:21:52+05:30
2020-04-02T10:21:52+05:30
These Super Grannies Came Out On Top Battling Coronavirus 95-year-old Alma Clara Corsini made a full recovery after a novel coronavirus infection. (Photo: @FMCastaldo/Twitter)

Amidst all the gloom and doom surrounding coronavirus pandemic and the nationwide lockdown, hope finds a way to shine through. An elderly couple in Kerala recovering from COVID-19 after several days in the hospital is one such. 88-year-old Mariyamma and her husband, Thomas, were being treated at the Kottayam Medical College and it is said that their son and his family returning from Italy may have brought the virus with them.

The news of the recovery of this elderly couple is especially heartening as it has been well established, after multiple global studies, that patients above the age of 60 are at far greater risk of dying from the coronavirus than any other age group. The couple was given a send-off by the hospital staff.

There is something about grannies and their resilience here—that allowed them to fight back the coronavirus and return triumphant from the hospital. One of the first of such cases that came to light was that of the 103-year-old grandmother, Zhang Guangfen, from Wuhan, the epicentre of the coronavirus. A video, that came to light in early March, showed Zhang being escorted out of the hospital by the hospital staff. 

Then came the news of yet another 103-year-old woman, this time from Iran's central city of Semnan. According to the Iranian state news agency, IRNA, the unnamed woman was discharged from the Semnan University of Medical Sciences last month after a "full recovery." Since then, there have been other cases too. In the UK a great grandmother aged 94 beat coronavirus after being infected. She returned home after a few days in the James Paget Hospital, Norfolk, England. Named Joy, a retired nurse herself, she credited the staff at the hospital for her recovery. 

The news of elderly women recovering from the deadly virus has come from other parts of the world too, including Italy, where a 95-year-old grandmother, Alma Clara Corsini, surviving COVID-19 hit the headlines sometime in the first week of March.

What made these elderly ladies battle the most dreaded virus of our times and come out winners may well become the subject of study for doctors and scientists. Meanwhile, we at RD doff our hats to these super grannies!

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