In between the grim news of the rising death toll due to coronavirus infection, there has been some uplifting news of old people who fought the deadly pathogen and came out a winner. One such news is from Oregon in US, where William "Bill" Lapschies fought the virus and even celebrated his birthday with his family on April 1.
Lapschies, who turned a 104, has lived through the Spanish Flu, the Great Depression, World War II and now becomes a survivor of COVID-19.
According to reports, he contracted the infection at the veterans' home in Oregon on March 5, where 15 residents have tested positive for coronavirus, and two have passed away, according to a report by CBS affiliate KOIN.
After he showed symptoms of the virus he had been put in isolation at his room, but as of this week, he is considered recovered from COVID-19.
On Lapschies birthday, his family surprised him at the veterans' home and celebrated a social-distancing party outside the veterans' home where he had chocolate cake and pizzas.
"This isn't exactly how his family wanted to celebrate," his daughter Carolee Brown told KION, adding "We celebrated his 101 and had over 200 people," she said. "But we're so thrilled he's recovered from this and we just had to do something for him."
The family thanked the staff at the veteran's home, and said they hoped this case will inspire others to remian resilient too in their fight against coronavirus. "We hope that this will inspire some of the other people that are going through this," Brown said. "And we're really excited and looking forward to 105."
His family thinks he must be one of the oldest people to recover from virus.
