New York woman, 101, whose mother died giving birth to her on a ship from Italy to the US during the Spanish flu pandemic beats COVID-19
- New York woman Angelina Friedman, 101, beat the novel coronavirus this month
- She was born during the height of the Spanish flu in 1918 and beat cancer
- Friedman, who lives in a Westchester nursing home, was diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 21 and suffered on and off fevers for weeks
- On April 20 she finally tested negative for the virus after a week in isolation
- ‘My mother is a survivor. She is not human. She has superhuman DNA,’ her daughter Joanne Merola said
- Here’s how to help people impacted by Covid-19
By Marlene Lenthang For Dailymail.com
Published: | Updated:
A New York woman who survived the Spanish influenza pandemic and beat cancer has triumphed over COVID-19 at the age of 101.
Angelina Friedman is the latest centurion to beat the novel coronavirus, more than 100 years after her mother died giving birth to her aboard a passenger ship bringing immigrants from Italy to New York City during the second wave of the Spanish flu in 1918.
Her family is hailing her as a ‘superhuman’ for her incredible life in which she’s overcome the Spanish flu, miscarriages, cancer, sepsis and now her second pandemic, COVID-19.
At 101, she has outlived her husband and 10 siblings.
New York woman Angelina Friedman, 101, who was born in the height of the Spanish flu in 1918 and went on to survive cancer, beat the novel coronavirus this month
Her family is hailing her as a ‘superhuman’ for her incredible life where she’s overcome the Spanish flu, miscarriages, cancer, sepsis and now her second pandemic, COVID-19
‘Her mother died giving birth on the ship, and she was taken care of by her two sisters, who were also on board,’ Friedman’s daughter Joanne Merola said to Pix11.
Friedman and her two sisters reunited with their father in Brooklyn, where she was raised.
She went on to marry Harold Friedman and the two started a family. However, both contracted cancer.
‘She and my dad had cancer at the same time. She survived. He didn’t,’ Merola said.
Now Friedman is the last of her surviving siblings and is still going strong.
‘Everybody in the family lived until at least 95, except one uncle. My mother is a survivor. She is not human. She has superhuman DNA,’ Merola said.
Friedman, who lives in a Westchester nursing home, was diagnosed with COVID-19 on March 21 and suffered on and off fevers for weeks. On April 20, she finally tested negative for the virus after a week in isolation. Pictured crowned as prom queen in a June 2019 event at the nursing home
Nurses say Friedman is doing very well after recovering from coronavirus. Pictured above at a June 2019 spring prom event where she was crowned queen
Feidman now lives at the North Westchester Restorative Therapy and nursing Center in Lake Mohegan, New York.
She was taken to the hospital on March 21 for a minor medical procedure and was diagnosed with COVID-19.
She spent a week there before returning to isolation in her nursing home. On April 20 she finally tested negative for the virus.
Merola says her mother suffered from on and off fevers but never had respiratory symptoms.
Merola hasn’t been able to visit her mother since February and says Friedman is nearly deaf and they can’t talk on the phone.
Feidman now lives at the North Westchester Restorative Therapy and nursing Center in Lake Mohegan, New York (above)
Friedman’s nursing home shared a photo of the resilient patient on April 24 writing: ‘Lets hear it for Angelina our 101 year old resident who beat COVID-19 & is doing great!!!!!’
In the spring the Angelina was crowned prom queen at an event at the nursing home.
Nurses tell her that Friedman is doing incredibly well since beating the virus.
‘They tell me she’s doing great. She’s up and about as much as possible. She’s looking for wool to crochet with. If my mother could see this I’d tell her, “You keep going, Ma. You’re gonna outlive us all,”‘ Merola said.
New York continues to be the epicenter of the virus outbreak in the US. As of Tuesday morning there are more than 291,000 cases of COVID-19 and over 17,000 fatalities in the state.
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