When Mary Jane Hastings tested positive for the coronavirus, her family thought "that would be it," so they were ecstatic when she walked out of the hospital just in time to celebrate her 100th birthday on Thursday.
Mary Jane, a resident at a New York assisted living facility, has a higher risk of catching COVID-19 due to her age and because she has mild chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), USA Today reported. Her brother died from COVID-19 last month and when Mary Jane was diagnosed two weeks ago, her family feared for her life.
"We were scared to death," said her daughter Linda Hastings, who is one of eight children. "It was our worst nightmare."
However, after 10 days in the hospital, Mary Jane was released.
"We all are amazed and very, very blessed," said Patty Fink, another of Mary Jane's children.
In celebration of her life, and birthday, Mary Jane's family decided to go all out. Although they were not all able to visit her due to a virus-related lockdown order, they planned a parade featuring family members and a Webster fire department truck to go past Mary Jane's house on Thursday. They also put together a video featuring dozens of birthday messages from her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.
"We want to make as big a deal of this as we can," said Linda. "We're just trying to make this special, just so she understands that this family that she devoted her life to is there."
And to make up for not being able to celebrate the big day together, Linda said the family plans to have a "big birthday party at this time next year" for her mother.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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