99-Year-Old Great-Grandmother Beats COVID-19 And Has A Special Celebration

A 99-year-old great-grandmother has just beaten the coronavirus and had a special celebration to commemorate the occasion! Anne Giardino was diagnosed with COVID-19 earlier this month when she was admitted to Stony Brook Hospital in New York. However, less than 30 days later, the whole family is celebrating because Anne had miraculously overcome the virus.

Anne, her family, and the team all held a special celebration for her at Hamlet Rehabilitation and Healthcare Center. Everyone watched on with tears in their eyes as Anne held a sign that read, “I’m 99 and I crushed COVID-19!”

Anne Giardino beats COVID-19 and has a special celebration as she’s discharged

Not only are people ages 65 and older considered high risk for the virus, but so are people with underlying health issues. These include heart conditions, obesity, diabetes, liver disease, and chronic kidney disease. In this case, Anne had no underlying health issues and was often active in her community. “She spoke in front of a crowd on Wednesday [ahead of] Palm Sunday services,” her daughter explains. “She was fine and then this beast just came in and attacked her breathing… When she got to the hospital on Monday, they immediately gave her oxygen.”

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Despite being hospitalized for this deadly virus, her daughter, Camille Stordeur, was determined that her mother would beat the virus. “I wasn’t going to lose my mother to COVID-19. There was no way, she was healthy,” she says. “She’s too strong of a woman.”

Not only was her family relieved, her medical team was also thrilled

Well, Anne’s daughter ended up being right. After just a week in the hospital, she was transferred to a rehab center. She spent 10 days there before she was officially discharged and earned a special celebration/send-off from her team. “My eyes filled up,” Camille says. “It was a parade of life walking out… and it was overwhelming to see how she’s so loved.”

Not only did the special send-off mean a lot to Anne’s family, it also meant the world to her medical team. “When people come in on a stretcher and they leave walking, as clinicians that’s all the team can hope for,” says Vice President of CareRite Centers Ashley Romano. “I think it gives the everyday person the opportunity for hope and inspiration. If Anne can do it, we can all do it.”

She’s back home and preparing for her 100th birthday in September

“She came in and needed support and assistance eating and walking. But then for her to be the spitfire she is and walk out with her tie-dye sign, that’s what it’s all about,” Romano continues on. “She’s someone who is an inspiration — not only to her family but to the Hamlet family, as well.”

Now that Anne is back home and settled in, she is not allowing visitors in. Her daughter looks forward to the day she can reunite with her mom again, who turns 100 in September this year. “Her motto is, ‘You can’t stop, you gotta keep going’ … and that’s what she does,” her daughter explains. “We wouldn’t let her go, it wasn’t her time. She’s got too much life in her.”