102-year-old woman from Italy recovers from coronavirus

A 102-year-old Italian woman made a miraculous recovery from the coronavirus after a 20-day hospital stint in the northern city of Genoa, according to a report.

Italica Grondona came down with the dangerous virus and was admitted with mild heart failure in early March to San Martino hospital, CNN reported.

“She only had some mild coronavirus symptoms, so we tested her and she was positive, but we did very little, she recovered on her own,” her doctor, Vera Sicbaldi, told the outlet.

Doctors were so impressed with Grondona’s recovery from the virus, which has been deadly for many elderly people, that they gave her a new nickname.

“We nicknamed her ‘Highlander’ — the immortal,” Sicbaldi told CNN.

Sicbaldi said that it’s possible, given Grondona’s age, that she may have been one of the only patients to also survive the 1918 Spanish Flu.

“We got serological samples, she is the first patient we know that might have gone through the ‘Spanish flu’ since she was born in 1917,” the doctor said.

Her nephew, Renato Villa Grondona, said that her lifestyle may have played a role in her ability to beat the virus. She loves dancing and music, with one of her favorites being Queen lead singer Freddy Mercury, he said.

“I don’t know what her secret is, but I know she is a free and independent woman,” he told the outlet.

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