A 106-year-old New Jersey woman certainly has a lot to celebrate after she was recently declared coronavirus-free, Yahoo News reported.
Rose Bromberg has lived through the 1918 Influenza Pandemic, the Depression, and both World Wars, and now she can officially add beating COVID-19 to her lengthy list of incredible achievements.
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Six years ago, Bromberg became a live-in resident at The Gardens at Monroe in Monroe Township.
Andrea Rivera, the director of activities at the facility, told Yahoo News that the 106-year-old woman has made such a positive impact on staff there that she’s lovingly been given the nickname “Mama Rose”.
“Mama Rose is 106 and we want her here forever with us. She’s a little bit of a flirt with the male staff,” Rivera explained, adding that Bromberg has “an amazing sense of humor.”
In March, Bromberg’s nursing home went into isolation in response the virus outbreak.
Then, in late April, Bromberg herself tested positive for the coronavirus, leaving her family feeling devastated over the heartbreaking news.
“Me and my sister thought the worst,” her son, Howie, told Yahoo News . “We almost started [to] make [end of life] plans.”
He added that because of the facility’s lockdown, he and his family haven’t been able to visit Bromberg since March 3.
Rivera said news of Bromberg’s coronavirus diagnosis hit staff at the facility particularly hard.
“You have that moment when your heart drops,” she explained. “Then you pick yourself up and you say ‘OK. We’re going to help her beat this.'”
Howie also said his mom has always been a fighter: “Whatever she had she always came through. She broke her hip at 102 and recovered. She’s a survivor.”
After spending three weeks in her nursing facility’s isolation unit, Bromberg slowly began to overcome the deadly disease.
Then, on May 22, the 106-year-old fighter was officially declared virus-free and was finally able to leave the unit.
“We were euphoric,” Howie recalled of the incredible news of his mom’s triumph over the virus. “It was exciting. All of our friends call her ‘Wonder Woman’.”
Rivera said staff at the facility knew they needed to do something to celebrate this incredible moment for their beloved Mama Rose.
“Each day she felt better we felt better,” River said. “The first time she made a joke we knew. ‘She’s back,’ one of our nurses said, ‘We need to get some balloons.'”
In a video shared to the facility’s Facebook page, Bromberg can be seen seated in her wheelchair with balloons attached to the handles and a poster in her arms that reads, “BEAT COVID @ 106” while staff surround her and break out into joyous applause.
Since she was cleared of the virus, Bromberg happily reported that she’s feeling “much better today, thank you. Thank god!”
Her son, Howie, has also said his mom is doing great and is back to her bright-spirited old self, even going so far as to dress up for facility staff and other residents.
“She’s still the same – she gets dressed every day with makeup, jewelry, lipstick,” Howie said. “She’s outgoing, funny, always a party-type person.”
