A 104-YEAR-OLD US Second World War veteran has become one of the oldest people in the world to recover from Covid-19.
Even better – he’s done it in time to celebrate his birthday.
Major Wooten served as a private first class in the army and played a crucial role in the Allies’ Second World War efforts, repairing bomb-damaged trains in war-torn France.
But when Major Wooten contracted coronavirus back on November 23, after his daughter got the illness, his family feared the worst.
However, nearly two months on, the former US steel worker is celebrating after making a full recovery.
Though he’s been left physically and mentally drained by the experience, the Second World War veteran was still able to celebrate his birthday this past week after finally being discharged from hospital.
Madison Hospital posted a video on social media of the moment he left hospital surrounded by staff who turned out to wish a happy birthday to the man affectionately known as “Pop Pop” by his family.
Pushed out in a wheelchair decorated with balloons, Major Wooten turned 104 this past Thursday and had the dedicated doctors, nurses and scientists working on Covid-19 treatments to thank for his recovery.
His incredible recovery was attributed to an infusion of a new monoclonal antibody therapy bamlanivimab. Though he required hospital treatment, there was soon a marked improvement in his blood oxygen levels and lungs.
“I don’t know if that medicine just started working, but within 24 hours he was better,” his granddaughter Holley Wooten McDonald told the Associated Press.
“I’m just thankful that they were able to treat him so quickly and we were able to get him tested,” said Ms McDonald, adding: “It’s amazing that a 104-year-old survived Covid.”
Incredibly, it’s the second major health scare he has experienced in the past year, having previously been admitted to hospital with serious heart problems.
Now fighting fit and back home with his family, he enjoyed a birthday to remember, accompanied by a well-earned slice of cake.
