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Home / Lifestyle

Covid 19 coronavirus: 101yo woman who dodged 1918 flu and cancer survives virus

NZ Herald
29 Apr, 2020 02:19 AM2 mins to read

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Focus Live: PM Jacinda Ardern and Dr Ashley Bloomfield give Covid-19 update

A 101-year-old who dodged the deadly 1918 Spanish flu and knocked out cancer has now beaten Covid-19.

New York woman Angelina Friedman tested positive for Covid-19 last month, but has already beaten the illness that has killed more than 217,000 around the world.

After successfully overcoming three major medical hurdles in her life, Friedman's DNA has been described as superhuman.

Following her Covid-19 battle, the 101-year-old's family say they weren't surprised in the slightest that she overcame the illness.

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Angelina Friedman. Photo / North Westchester Restorative Therapy & Nursing Center
Angelina Friedman. Photo / North Westchester Restorative Therapy & Nursing Center
101-year-old Angelina Friedman, who dodged the deadly 1918 Spanish flu and knocked out cancer has now beaten Covid-19. Photo / North Westchester Restorative Therapy & Nursing Center
101-year-old Angelina Friedman, who dodged the deadly 1918 Spanish flu and knocked out cancer has now beaten Covid-19. Photo / North Westchester Restorative Therapy & Nursing Center

"She is not human," her daughter, Joanne Merola, said. "She has superhuman DNA."

"My mother is a survivor. She survived miscarriages, internal bleeding, and cancer."

The daughter of Italian immigrants, Friedman was born aboard a ship bound for America in 1918, while the Spanish flu was raging — and emerged unscathed.

Following Friedman's Covid-19 recovery, she's returned to her rest home but hasn't been able to see her daughter because of a back injury.

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Since Friedman is nearly deaf, they haven't been able to speak on the phone.

Merola can't wait to see her mother again, and says she could potentially outlive her children.

"If my mother could see this, I'd say, 'Keep going, Ma,'" Merola said. "'You're going to outlive us all.'"

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