AN ELDERLY Cork woman who survived the Spanish influenza outbreak as a child has said she is determined to get through the Covid-19 crisis.
Gladys Locke, who is originally from County Cork but now resides in Dublin, is today celebrating her 104th birthday in isolation in Leopardstown Park Hospital-- but is keeping positive and is looking forward to going shopping once the country has recovered from the pandemic.
Gladys told Echo Live that she had been planning on celebrating the big day surrounded by family, but is instead speaking to her daughter on the phone and taking leisurely walks around the "beautiful" grounds of Leopardstown Park Hospital.
"I'm so lucky," she told the outlet. "I'm very well looked after here."
The hospital's Clinical Manager, Liz Cusack, said that Gladys' sunny and optimistic nature "keeps us all young here".
Gladys says that "we need to be patient" with regards to the Covid-19 outbreak, and by adhering to Government guidelines Ireland and its people can get through this-- speaking from experience after she lived through the Spanish Influenza pandemic of 1918 - 1920.
Gladys suffered from double pneumonia during the Influenza outbreak, and told Echo Live that while things looked bleak, her parents had kept a vigil by her bedside the entire time and she managed to pull through.
Gladys is now looking forward to when the restrictions are lifted and she can celebrate her milestone birthday with her family and go back to her normal daily routine of catching the Luas into the city to go shopping, visiting the park and chatting with locals.
