'Incredible' 102-year-old discharged from Pinderfields Hospital after surviving coronavirus

The family of a 102-year-old coronavirus survivor have described the ‘miraculous’ moment she was discharged from hospital just a week after doctors warned she had hours left to live.
Catherine Maynard Grace, known to her family as Auntie Kitt, has been discharged from hospital - just eight days after her family were told she had only hours to live. Photos: Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust/Alison RodriguezCatherine Maynard Grace, known to her family as Auntie Kitt, has been discharged from hospital - just eight days after her family were told she had only hours to live. Photos: Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust/Alison Rodriguez
Catherine Maynard Grace, known to her family as Auntie Kitt, has been discharged from hospital - just eight days after her family were told she had only hours to live. Photos: Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust/Alison Rodriguez

Catherine Maynard Grace, known to her family as Auntie Kitt, was admitted to hospital earlier this month with Covid-19.

And last Monday evening, her family received the call they had been dreading.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“The doctor said she wouldn’t live through the night,” said cousin Marie Nebard. “Maybe she wouldn’t even make it another two hours.

In her youth, Auntie Kitt worked on London, where she rubbed shoulders with Prime Minister Winston Churchill, before moving to Ossett to be with her family.In her youth, Auntie Kitt worked on London, where she rubbed shoulders with Prime Minister Winston Churchill, before moving to Ossett to be with her family.
In her youth, Auntie Kitt worked on London, where she rubbed shoulders with Prime Minister Winston Churchill, before moving to Ossett to be with her family.

“They said she was giving in and she won’t survive the night.

“For her to go that way didn’t seem right, so they got me on Skype.”

Unable to visit the hospital as part of ongoing lockdown rules, Marie was given the chance to say goodbye to Kitt via video call, and said her cousin “got the biggest smile on her face” upon hearing her voice.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And when the phone rang the following morning, Marie said she was sure she knew what would be said.

She said: “The next day the phone rang from the hospital and we thought ‘Oh my god, she’s gone’.

“But they said ‘it’s a miracle.’”

Despite all expectations, Auntie Kitt had survived the night - and had recovered so much that staff had even been able to lower the concentration of oxygen she was receiving.

Marie said: “If miracles happen, this is a miracle because she was dying on Monday.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“And then Wednesday she was up on the ward and having a coffee and her weetabix.

“It’s a shock. I can’t tell you in words.

“We all love her, we love her to bits.”

On Tuesday, just eight days after doctors warned she had hours to live, Auntie Kitt was discharged from hospital and returned to her home at Oak Park Care Home, Ossett.

A video shared to Facebook shows doctors and nurses lining the corridors to applaud as she leaves the hospital.

Marie said her family were grateful to every member of staff who had cared for their Auntie Kitt.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

She said: “The staff are unbelievable. “They are caring so much and will do anything they can to help you.

“And then the liaison officers have been amazing, they rang me every day.

“They couldn’t believe she’d come around.”

The family will not be able to see Auntie Kitt while the coronavirus crisis continues, but hope to say hello through the window of her room - and have even had a photo of her late husband printed on a pillow to keep her company.

Though she now lives in Ossett, Auntie Kitt formerly lived in Essex with her husband Alec, where she worked for the government - including alongside wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

But she often travelled to Yorkshire to visit family, and on her 98th birthday travelled from Essex to Wakefield by herself to celebrate with her cousins, nieces and nephews.

A resident at Oak Park Nursing Home, Ossett, Auntie Kitt is a regular at the town’s market, which she visits each week with her cousin Marie.

She is also a keen dancer, and attended dance lessons three times a week until the age of 99, when she suffered a hip injury that left her unable to walk.

But unperturbed, she vowed to get better, and was back on her feet by her 100th birthday, even taking time to entertain the family by dancing to Elvis at Christmas.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Praising Auntie Kitt’s spirit, the Mid Yorkshire NHS Trust, who run the hospital, said: “Auntie Kitt has done, seen and overcome many things, she is an incredibly strong woman.

“Kitty, you are a real trooper with lots of stories to tell, we wish we could sit and listen to you all day but we’re so happy to send you on your way, we hope you’re up dancing again soon.”

Related topics: