A pair of World War II veterans have taken on the COVID-19 infection and survived. Perhaps it goes without saying that if one has the temerity to stare down the Nazis or battle the Japanese in the South Pacific after Pearl Harbor, global pandemics are a walk in the park.
Oregon resident William Lapschies recently celebrated his 104th Birthday sitting in a wheelchair wearing a mask. He appears to be the oldest person to survive the virus that causes high fatality rates in seniors and those with underlying conditions.
“He is fully recovered. He is very perky — and he is very excited,” daughter Carolee Brown reportedly said.
According to reports, approximately 27 percent of people over 85 do not survive COVID-19. Two of the 15 residents at his senior living facility who tested positive died.
Lapschies was reportedly born in 1916 and was two years old when an early influenza pandemic infected upwards of one-third of the global population. Upwards of 50 million people died, including 675,000 Americans. Even though doctors spoke to the family about end-of-life decisions after his March 10 diagnosis, loved ones gathered at a senior living facility to celebrate yet another milestone, beating COVID-19.
“His smile, I wish you could have seen it, that mask covers it, but his smile is absolutely contagious,” granddaughter Jamie Yutzie reportedly said.
While Lapschies appears to be the oldest person to recover from the virus, another Oregon WWII veteran has won his bout as well. McMinnville resident Bill Kelly completed his recovery at home on March 30, after being diagnosed about two weeks earlier.
Kelly, a 95-year-old known for being a tough-as-nails vet, showed rare determination and grit after learning of his sometimes fatal diagnosis.
“I survived Guam. I can get through this bull–,” Kelly reportedly said. “We’re going just fine here. We’re toughing it out. I’ve got two great-grandsons to keep me busy. I’ve been very fortunate.”
The family reportedly took proactive measures to isolate and treat Kelly. His 41-year-old granddaughter, Rose Ayers-Etherington, indicated that Kelly went to the hospital for overnight observation and returned home the following day. Along with being at high risk due to age, Kelly reportedly also has underlying conditions such as kidney and congenital heart disease. He spent two weeks quarantined in his bedroom while family disinfected surfaces and wore masks.
“But it was still nerve-wracking,” Ayers-Etherington reportedly stated on social media. “We were just drinking hot tea all the time. Taking zinc. Washing our hands constantly. It’s real, and it’s here, and it needs to be respected. Just hoping Grandpa Bill’s story will encourage you and put a smile on your face. Also, the rest of us are healthy.”
Kelly survived the Great Depression and was among the first wave of soldiers to enter the South Pacific theater in response to the Japanese attack. Although the COVID-19 pandemic has taken thousands of lives and brought much of the country to a standstill, these members of the Greatest Generation prove this invisible enemy can be defeated.
I’m glad to hear of these men beating this virus, I believe that it can be beat, but the media wants gloom and doom. Never hear or read about this on mass media, god bless
IT IS GREAT TO SEE VETERANS SURVIVE THE VIRUS.
I AM 84 YEARS (20 years of service) (KOREA & VEIT NAM.)
LONG AGO I BELIEVED OUR COUNTRY WAS WORTH,
SUFFERING & DEATH IF NEEDED TO KEEP SAFE OUR WAY OF
LIFE.
NOW I ASK WHAT FORM OF LIFE WE, HAVE AFTER OUR GREEDY SELL US OUT?
ONLY REASON I CAN SEE IS PURE GREED.
MOBS INSTEAD of POLICE? BULLETS INSTEAD OF VOTES? AMERICAN DEATHS TO ALLOW
INVADERS LIFE?
YOU MAY NOT HAVE LONG TO DECIDE. Democrats offer poor helping poor? REPUBLICANS OFFER
THOSE WHO CAN HELP, HELP THE POOR & FORGOTTEN AMERICANS.
WITH LOVE FOR AMERICA & HOPE WHAT WE FOUGHT FOR BE PRESERVED.
OLD SOLDIER
FORMER Democrat NOW AMERICAN
NB…….both these veterans were in the Pacific theater. The military in the Pacific were required to take the antimalarial drug Atabrin and,possibly, quinine. Anyone one see a correlation between The oxyhydrochloroquin of today and the antimalarias of yesterday?
Let us not forget the old Gin and Tonic. Tonic,as you may know, had quinine in it. We breezed through the war with no worries of malaria, as long as we had our gin and tonic.
Thank you veterans for your service to our country. I am taking quinine, which prevents leg cramps, maybe I have an edge too. I am 79, and pretty healthy except for heart trouble, I take medication for. Oh well, Still alive and well, glad the two old gents made it through this siege.
Yep, when I was a young man, you could buy Schweppes Bitter Lemon soda pop in the store. What make it “bitter”? It was made with quinine water. All hydroxychloroquine is, today, is synthetic quinine. As soon as the drug manufacturers discovered it could cure other things, besides malaria. they petitioned the FDA to make it prescription drug. Bingo! Suddenly you needed a prescription to buy Schweppes Bitter Lemon Soda, even though for decades you could buy it off the shelf in a super market.
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Any bets that the same thing will happen with the Anti-Corona Virus drugs? What, you didn’t realize that there are drugs made specifically to interrupt a corona virus? Yep, they are Acyclovir (Zovirax) and Valcyclovir (Valtrex). They can interrupt a corona virus within 4 days. The Army doctors in Germany used them to save my life in the mid-80s. I had viral meningitis from Herpes Simplex II. C’mon, you knew that Herpes Simplex II (HSVII) is a corona virus, right? That corona virus breached the blood / brain barrier and infected my spinal column and brain.
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Uh huh, I had a corona virus eating my brain. I was hospitalized for a week with visual and auditory hallucinations. I thought there were workers outside my hospital room using a table saw. Heard it as plain as day. And I thought there were ants crawling around the floor next to my bed. I saw them, but nobody else did. Then suddenly, it all disappeared. The table saw, the ants, everything was clear. When I asked the Army doctor who was attending, he said, “That’s the good part about a corona virus. It either kills you, or you recover without a scratch. Apparently, you are going to recover without a scratch.” I asked him about permanent brain damage. He shook his head, “No, that isn’t how a corona virus works. You have beaten it. There will be no scar tissue, no brain damage, everything will heal up as good as new.”