Anna Del Priore is now a two-time pandemic survivor, after surviving her battle with the Chinese coronavirus.
At 107, Middletown, New Jersey’s Anna Del Priore has seen a lot. Eighteen presidents, two world wars, Vietnam, the civil rights movement, and countless other historic events. Nearly a century ago, she even survived the Spanish Flu pandemic — which killed approximately 50 million people worldwide.
But when granddaughter Darlene Jasmine got a call from Brighton Gardens — an assisted living facility in Middletown operated by Sunrise Senior Living — saying Del Priore had been diagnosed with COVID-19, she feared her grandmother had finally met her match. “I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is it,’” Jasmine said. “This is the thing that’s going to take her down.”
It did not.
Jasmine credited her grandmother’s lifestyle and healthy diet for her historic resilience. “She’s constantly moving,” she said. “We always walked in Brooklyn — to the grocery store, to the bakery. Every night she would make a homemade meal from scratch. All Mediterranean food — olive oil, vegetables, fruits, nuts. It’s like the old peasant food that now they charge you so much for.”
Not only has Del Priore recovered, she is fully mobile. She is even back to dancing. “You keep living,” she said. “Dancing makes you feel good. I want to keep my health.”
Everyone around Del Priore has been shocked by the unlikely victory. “People don’t believe me,” said Del Priore’s health care coordinator, Laura Halle. “It’s really been amazing to watch her journey … For the rest of my life, I’ll be able to say I met and loved someone who’s made it this far and stayed healthy.”
Del Priore’s own sentiments are much simpler: “I feel good,” she said. “I thank God I’m alive.”