World War II, Spanish Flu, And Covid-19 Successfully Passed By William Lapschies 104 Year Old Grandfather

Photo illustration (Marcus Castro / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - After Geneva Wood (90) as one of the oldest patients who recovered from COVID-19, now there are more patients who have recovered and are way above Wood's age. He is William Lapschies, a World War II veteran from Oregon, United States (US). He has been through several major calamities in history, fortunately he has always managed to escape the threat of death.

Two days ago or on Wednesday, April 1, William "Bill" Lapschies turns 104 years old. One of his best gifts is that he has successfully recovered from an epidemic caused by the new corona virus. Lapschies could be the oldest people on the planet to have survived COVID-19.

Lapschies is one of two residents who first tested positive for COVID-19 at the Edward C. Allworth Veterans Home, Lebanon City, Oregon State, United States, as quoted by KOIN. As of April 2 yesterday, 15 residents have tested positive and two have died.

The man, who has two grandchildren, six great-grandchildren and five children, has been isolated in his room when he first felt symptoms on March 5. Five days later, he was diagnosed with COVID-19.

A few days after testing positive, a doctor who treated Lapschies told his son Carolee Brown that his father was in a very bad situation. His body temperature increased dramatically and his breathing was heavy. Brown even talked about end-of-life decisions.

However, fate said otherwise, this week, Lapschies "have complied with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Oregon Health Authority procedures and are declared to have recovered from COVID-19," said a spokeswoman for Veteran Affairs (VA).

The good news came to coincide with the turn of the Lapschies' 104 years of age. While celebrating the moment, it was seen that his nanny took the Lapschies out of the house in a wheelchair while wearing a hat from a veteran of the Second World War.

"I did it," Lapschies told the news station. "Good for a few more incidents," he added.

Some of these incidents refer to the experience of Lapschies who managed to escape the Spanish flu pandemic that had spread throughout the world in 1918-1919. It is estimated that around 500 million people or one third of the world's population are infected with this virus. While the number of deaths is estimated at 50 million, and about 675,000 occurred in America.

In addition, Lapschies according to his son Brown also managed to get through several major crisis moments in world history. For example, the Great Depression (1930) economic crisis, and several recessions. In addition, during World War II, he was also stationed in the Aleutian Islands.

"Bill is pretty tough," said his son Brown. "It looks like he just made a great recovery," said Brown.