84-Year-Old Coronavirus Survivor Recovering At Norman Nursing Home In Need Of Motorized Wheelchair

After a long fight, 84-year-old Nelda Webb has beaten COVID-19. Family said she is officially listed as recovered.

Webb contracted the disease while living at Grace Living Center in Norman, which has been a hotbed for the virus, according to her granddaughter, Makila Fields.

While her health has improved, Nelda’s family said she needs some help to get back to normal.

“She will have to do a lot of rehab to get her strength up.,” said Fields. “She is just the most perfect grandmother you could ever ask for. She is the happiest strongest person you will ever meet.”

Back in mid-March, she said Nelda started showing symptoms like labored breathing and a high temperature.

Nelda continued to stay at Grace Living Center according to Fields for about three more weeks, until she took a turn for the worst, and was transferred to Norman Regional.

“She had good days where she thought she was getting over it, and then she would bottom out again. I am talking within 24 hours,” said Fields.

One day—Nelda’s fever broke.

She is living back at Grace, but needs help getting around.

“She is still very weak. Mostly from the fever, all the damage the fever did to her body,” said Fields. “We need to get her a motorized wheelchair. She had one, but the motor went out. It’s not able to be repaired. We want to get her a motorized wheelchair so she can have something to look forward to.”

News 9 has been following the story of Grace Living Center, also known as Grace Skilled Nursing and Rehab, since March 26.

At the time the facility reported 7 patients had tested positive for COVID-19.

Over a month later and the cases have reached 72 residents and 9 staff.

Grace Skilled Nursing &Therapy released the following statement Friday to News 9:

It is with great pleasure that we can confirm that many of our residents are actively recovering or fully recovered from COVID-19. The battle is not over and we must remain vigilant against any re-occurrence of the virus; but this is obviously welcome news. It is also a tribute to the dedication of the facility staff who have worked tirelessly to care for our residents. They are truly heroes. We also want to again say thank you to our families for their patience and support. We recognize the sacrifices they are making in order to help us keep their loved ones safe; this includes recognizing the importance of limiting visitation until community benchmarks indicate that we may once again relax these conditions. We continue to communicate directly with families about their loved ones, but if any family members have questions, we hope they will contact the helpline that has been established. Finally, we want to always remember the members of our community lost to this virus. They are missed by all of us and our hearts continue to go out to their loved ones during this very difficult time.

Nelda said Grace Living Center has always taken care of her, but still she misses seeing her family.

It would mean the world to just have a hug, and some encouragement right about now.

“It’s very concerning because we can’t visit, and so much is unknown about the future of this virus, and that nursing home was hit extremely hard,” said Fields.

The family has created a GoFundMe to buy a wheelchair for Nelda. You can find that link here.