SMILE THAT SAYS ‘I’M 99 NOT OUT!’
GLADYS BEATS COVID-19 TO BE BACK HOME IN TIME FOR 100TH BIRTHDAY
MEET Gladys Taylor, a 99-yearold from Anstey who has returned home after making a remarkable recovery from coronavirus, writes Maia Snow.
Gladys fell ill in April with a chest infection and then tested positive for Covid-19 when she was admitted to Leicester Royal Infirmary towards the end of the month.
Daughter-in-law Deborah said it was a really tough time for the family, but Gladys defied all the odds to pull through - and is now back at her care home, looking forward to a 100th birthday celebration later this month.
“I knew that if she hadn’t gone to hospital, she would have been dead,” said Deborah.
Gladys’ son, Paul, said his mum had always been “a fighter”.
“We saw her recently, and she looks even better than she did a year ago!” he said.
A 99-YEAR-OLD woman from Anstey defied all the statistics and made a full recovery from coronavirus - all in time for her 100th birthday later this month.
Gladys Taylor, from Anstey, was taken to hospital on Sunday, April 26, after her health had deteriorated over the previous three weeks.
Her daughter-in-law, Deborah Taylor, said she could tell something was seriously wrong after speaking to Gladys on the phone.
Deborah, 50, also from Anstey, said: “She had a chest infection in the middle of April but we couldn’t visit her in the care home because of the virus.
“She was on antibiotics, but she wasn’t responding and was getting weaker and weaker, I could tell in her voice.
“It’s a joke between my husband Paul, Gladys and I that she always wants to speak to me, not Paul, and I knew something wasn’t right when she asked me to stop calling because she was too weak to speak.
“It was a really tough time.” Gladys tested positive at Leicester Royal Infirmary on April 28, and was treated with fluids by the team at the hospital.
The hospital confirmed to the family that Gladys was also suffering from pneumonia.
She said: “I was determined that she was going to make it to her 100th birthday.
“I knew that if she hadn’t gone to hospital, she would have been dead.”
Gladys wasn’t put on a ventilator, but she was instead put on a drip and was treated with fluids.
Deborah added: “Even if she didn’t respond to treatment, we didn’t want to put her through the trauma of a ventilator.”
Remarkably, after just 10 days of treatment, Gladys recovered and, two weeks after being admitted to hospital, her son and daughter-inlaw were able to visit.
Deborah said: “In those two weeks she got so much better, and we went to see her for 10 minutes in the car park.
“She didn’t stop smiling the whole time we were there
“She’s always been sprightly, even at 99, but she really is remarkable.”
Paul, 63, told the Mercury how his mother had always been a fighter.
He said: “My dad died when he was 60, and she was left with everything to deal with.
“We also lost my sister in 2012, and she broke down when that happened, but she got back up again.
“She’s got a great sense of humour, and she likes her food and a little drink now and again.
“She got me to get her a bottle of brandy, that she shares with others in the home.”
On a recent visit to see his mother,
Paul said she looked the same, if not better, than before.
He said: “We saw her recently, and she looks even better than she did a year ago. She doesn’t look her age at all.”
Even though Gladys is now confined to a wheelchair, Paul said she is very sharp and always wants to know what’s going on.
He added: “Whatever life throws at her, she sorts it out.”
The home where Gladys lives,
George Hythe House, in Beaumont Leys, is throwing a socially-distanced 100th birthday party for Gladys on June 18.
The party will have a 1920s Great Gatsby theme and will be held in the grounds of the home.
Paul said: “We’re going to get dressed up and have a bit of a laugh.
“She’s already told me she needs a fancy dress to wear to the party, so I better go and buy her one!”
A BOY from Stoneygate recovered from a life-saving heart transplant, only to end up in lockdown after coronavirus reached its peak in the UK, writes Maia Snow.
Jon Morgan, aged six, was suddenly taken ill in November 2018 with a life-threatening condition called dilated cardiomyopathy.
It means Jon’s heart is not able to pump blood as well as a healthy heart could.
Unfortunately, the condition is incurable and he was kept stable through strong medication and regular visits to the cardiac team at Glenfield Hospital, as well as a referral to Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.
He was placed on the heart transplant waiting list, and returned home just before Christmas 2018.
His mum, Kanitha, said: “At the start of February he deteriorated and was readmitted to hospital.
“At this stage, due to a further worsening of his condition, he was placed at the top of the transplant list.”
Just a few weeks later, a donor match was found and Jon was given the transplant in the early hours of March 4.
The operation was a success and he was discharged five weeks after the transplant.
His mum said of the doctors: “It’s a miracle what they have done.”
However, his return home came just as the UK hit the coronavirus peak, which meant that Jon, who is high risk, had to be shielded and couldn’t go out to celebrate his recovery.
Kanitha, 39, said: “Jon is remarkable. He has hardly ever complained, moaned, or grumbled about what he’s been through.
“He is resilient, happy natured and kind. His outlook on life is always positive. He’s still doing really well, although is expected to be (confined) at home for weeks to come.”
Jon will be on medication for the rest of his life, which his mum admits will be difficult, but unavoidable.
She added: “I love him so much, and I hope he has many more happy years. I am looking forward to see what he does in his life.”
Kanitha said: “We are immensely grateful to the medical teams at Glenfield, and Freeman hospitals.
“Without them he wouldn’t be here, and his story may also be a tonic for the NHS staff who took, and continue to take, wonderful care of him.”