When Rudolph Heider was diagnosed with COVID-19 his family feared for his life – the grandfather contracted the virus at the age of 106.
Rudolph, better known to his friends as Rudi, battled the virus for weeks in self-isolation at his nursing home in Missouri.
But after a month of treatment Rudi, who has lived through the Spanish Flu, Great Depression, and World War II, was given the all clear – on his 107th birthday.
His family were overjoyed when staff from the Chesterfield nursing home delivered the news that Rudi had shown no symptoms of the virus for two weeks.
“I think a lot of it is definitely having a positive attitude and his mind is so active,” said Rudi’s grandson Matthew Heider, as per K5 News.
“When that call came that he wasn’t doing well… He was fighting fevers; I think he was at 102 (degrees Fahrenheit) and he had said he wanted to die…. I cried,” Matthew’s wife Janet added.
Rudi had much to celebrate on his 107th birthday and was happy to hear his grandson’s voice wishing him a ‘Happy Birthday’ over the phone.
“I love you very much,” Rudi replied to Matthew and Janet. “Thank you, everyone, for all the help you’ve given me.”
Rudi may be the oldest man in the world to recover from coronavirus. In Italy 104-year-old Ada Zanusso who survived the 1918 Spanish Flu, also recovered from COVID-19.
Connie Titchen is thought to be the oldest person in the U.K. to beat the virus. Staff lined the corridors of Birmingham City Hospital to clap the 106-year-old as she was wheeled out following her recovery.
Well done Rudi, you are an inspiration!
Please share to wish Rudi a ‘Happy Birthday’ and to help inspire others to fight this horrific virus.
