COVID-19 Survivor Celebrates 104th Birthday
I love coming across a positive, uplifting story. Don’t you? If so, you’ll love this one.
William Lapschies was born in Salem, Oregon on April 1st, 1916. He was two years old when the Spanish Flu Pandemic swept across the world and he was 27 when he was drafted into World War 2.
On March 10th of this year William was diagnosed with COVID-19. A few days later, a doctor at the nursing home where he has lived for eight months, called his daughter Carolee Brown to let her know that he wasn’t doing well. William’s temperature had spiked and his breathing was labored. Her and the doctor talked about end-of-life decisions.
First thing the next morning, she drove the 28 miles to the home with her husband Jim Brown. As she’s been doing twice a week since her father got sick, she walked up to his first-floor window. She expected to see him lying in bed. Instead, he was sitting in a wheelchair with his back toward her.
After she banged on the window three or four times, William turned around and then used his feet to scoot to the window. She called his cellphone and a caregiver wearing a blue protective gown, mask, face shield and gloves switched on the speakerphone so he could hear. “We were, like, ‘Oh, wow’ he just seemed like he was doing a whole lot better.” And, she said he kept getting better ever since.
Recently William was deemed “recovered” of COVID-19 and he got to celebrate his 104th birthday with his family. An Oregon newspaper showed up that day to do a story on him, his life and his recovery. They also recorded some of his birthday party too. Check it out by clicking here:
World’s Oldest Coronavirus Survivor?
Another great story is the story of Geneva Wood. Geneva is 90 and contracted COVID-19 at the Life Care Center in Kirkland Washington, the center of the first deadly coronavirus outbreak in the U.S.
Geneva had spent much of the winter there, after recovering from a stroke. She was days away from being discharged when COVID-19 put the facility on lock-down. Three days later Geneva began spiking a fever.
Largely kept in isolation, she says God was her only companion. Wood specifically remembers one night when she wasn’t sure if she would survive until morning.
“I could feel God’s presence. His hands were on my body and I could feel His presence. I’d wake up and I could feel these hands and I’d go back to sleep. Through the night, ’cause I’d wake up, I couldn’t see His face, but I could feel His hands and I knew He was with me and I made it through the night,” Wood remembers. “Until you’ve felt God’s presence and his hands on you, it’s something else. If it hadn’t have been for Him, I couldn’t have done it. And I wasn’t alone because He was with me all the time,” she continued.
Wood’s family calls her recovery “miraculous.” Nineteen days after entering the hospital, she was sent home, coronavirus free. Now she has some advice for everyone else battling the virus.
“Don’t give up hope. God is always there and put your trust in Him and lean on Him and give your life to Him. And you’ll make it, but you’ve got to not give up hope and fight.”
Check out her story and video interview by clicking here:
Hope you enjoy these! I pray you and your loved ones stay safe and healthy!
Chris
P.S. Another thing that I like to do to get myself uplifted and encouraged is to listen to uplifting music. I have over 800 songs in my iPhone playlist, but here’s a few that I’ve really been encouraged by lately. Check them out and let me know what you think.