As coronavirus cases and deaths slow down in Spain, another ray of hope emerged in the form of this elderly couple. In their 65 years of marriage, this elderly couple has braced a lot of obstacles, but one of their most memorable milestones to date is surviving coronavirus together!
José Prieto Cerrudo and his wife, Guadalupe Matas Hernández, both 88 years of age, contracted coronavirus. Although the elderly are more vulnerable to this disease, they successfully beat COVID-19 together. Both Jose and Guadalupe were released from the hospital this week after surviving the virus.
The couple, who have been married for more than six decades, requested to be put together in the same room. The hospital permitted them to be with one another as they both fight, and eventually recover from the disease.
Rosi Prieto, one of the couple's seven daughters, was a witness to the heartwarming love story of her parents. She told local media:
"They didn't know what it was like to be separated. My father, more than anything, missed my mother. My father is very affectionate, he needs to be with my mother."
On March, 14 Prieto Cerrudo was admitted into the Red Cross Hospital after experiencing a fever and a cough. Later on, his wife was also admitted after exhibiting similar symptoms. The two eventually tested positive for the dreaded virus.
Since both of them do not exhibit severe symptoms or any complications, Jesús Lacasa, a doctor at the hospital, permitted the couple to move into a similar room.
Lacasa said that when they were in different rooms, one was thinking about the other all the time, similar to their partner. They are a married couple who have spent their entire lives together, they know when the other one is in bad shape and they are not worried about themselves, just the other.
Due to the rising death toll in Spain, the patients' loved ones couldn't help but worry about their situation. In any case, on March 30, doctors had some uplifting news that their parents had successfully beat the virus, and can finally come home after more than two weeks of hospitalization.
Rosi Prieto told El País newspaper that they 'didn't think things were going to go well, especially for her father who was not feeling well.'
Javier Goméz Pavón, head of geriatric consideration at the Red Cross Hospital, said elderly patients who recovered have a newfound strength and positive outlook in life.
"If it is a person who returns to their family or with their partner where nothing has changed, they will return with more strength. This is a strong generation who have overcome the Spanish civil war, the hunger, the misery and the death of brothers."
Among the survivors is 96-year-old Adoracion Gonzales Garcia, who is a mother of three. Just like Jose and Guadalupe, Adoracion gives a semblance of hope after fighting coronavirus against all odds.
The health ministry reported on tuesday that the daily death toll for the coronavirus outbreak escalate by 743 in the wake of falling for four straight days bringing the total to 13,798.