Maria Likhotkina is 100 and she had never been treated in a hospital until she got COVID-19 this month.
Likhotkina, along with all her family members, tested positive for the coronavirus in mid-March and stayed home. Soon, she started feeling worse.
Likhotkina arrived at the Chernivtsi City Hospital with pneumonia in a moderate-to-severe condition and had 30% lung damage. Upon arrival, her health deteriorated abruptly and doctors started treating her with oxygen, said senior physician Olena Krapivina.
Apart from COVID-19, Likhotkina had other associated diseases, which wasn’t surprising given her age, according to the doctors. The woman was looked after round the clock by hospital staff and family members, who were being treated there at the same time.
Luckily, her health started to improve. Two weeks after hospitalization, she tested negative for the coronavirus and her lungs recovered from pneumonia. Likhotkina was released from the hospital on March 29 and is now at home, surrounded by family.
Medical workers were glad Likhotkina beat the coronavirus and gave her flowers as a gift. “Such an event is rare,” said doctor Krapivina. “We are very happy for her.”
Coincidentally, Likhotkina used to work as a nurse at the same hospital where she was treated.
Likhotkina celebrated her 100th birthday on Dec. 25, 2020. Chernivtsi Mayor Roman Klichun even congratulated her on Facebook. “It’s hard to imagine how much she’s gone through, how many things she has seen,” he wrote.
As of March 31, Chernivtsi Oblast has had nearly 70,000 cases of COVID-19. About 50,000 patients have recovered and 1,360 have died. In the past 24 hours, Chernivtsi Oblast has recorded 211 new cases.
