106-Year-Old Woman in India Beat COVID-19

A 106-year-old woman who lives in Maharashtra's Thane district in India has won her battle against COVID-19. This story is inspiring people worldwide. It's an encouraging tale in a time of immense tragedy and distress.

According to NDTV, she was discharged from the hospital with a great farewell from the doctors and the nurses that were in charge of her care. She had been in the hospital with COVID-19 for 10 days. 

"Anandibai Patil's grandmother is a living example of the saying, 'Nothing is impossible in the world,'" this tweet reads. "Mrs. Anandibai Patil, a 106-year-old grandmother from Dombivali, successfully overcame the coronavirus. She was discharged from P. Savlaram COVID Center, Dombivali."

The woman's daughter-in-law said that after she contracted the virus, no hospital wanted to admit her because of her advanced age. Finally, the COVID-19 treatment facility set up at Savlaram Krida Sankul, a sports complex, took her in.

She was in their care for 10 days. "We are really thankful to the hospital's medical team who took proper care of her and helped her in defeating the coronavirus," her daughter-in-law said. 

The prevailing opinion has been that COVID-19 affects elderly populations worse than it does younger people. But in the last few months, mounting evidence has suggested that it can affect younger people just as seriously as it does older people. And this story proves that some people, no matter the age, will beat the virus and be able to return home with a smile on their faces.

"It's clear from this grandmother's example that we can all overcome the corona crisis together," the above tweet reads. The doctor in charge of her case was @DrRahulGhule11. He led a team of experts and treated her just as he would any other patient.

"We are happy that she successfully responded to the treatment," said Dr. Ghule. The treatment center has only been open since July 27, and so far, Dr. Ghule and his team have treated 1,100 COVID-19 patients. 

As of September 17, India was on track to pass the United States as the country worst affected by COVID-19, according to NPR. The country has reported more than five million total cases, about 1.6 million less than the U.S., but the virus is spreading faster there. 

Mumbai and New Delhi, two of the country's biggest cities, had started to see plateaus in new cases recently, but they are now climbing again. The official number of COVID-19 deaths in India is over 83,000, but "a majority of India's deaths are not medically certified, so the real tally may be higher." In fact, many COVID-19 cases in countries around the world go undiagnosed, so numbers of cases and deaths in several places might actually be higher than the reported numbers.

It's an incredibly difficult and tragic time around the world. So to see a story like this one, of a 106-year-old woman who fought and won against a deadly virus, is inspiring and life-giving. We need some positivity these days. 

The pandemic is far from over. All around the world, people continue to contract the virus at alarming rates. The way we beat this thing is to come together, wear masks, wash our hands, and look out for each other.