Wartime crane driver, aged 99, beats coronavirus at Sheffield care home
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Ethel Booker defied the odds again by recovering from COVID-19 after falling ill at Wood Hill Grange care home, on Grimesthorpe Road.
She began feeling unwell last month and tested positive for the virus but staff were able to nurse her back to health without her needing hospital treatment, and they said she was now ‘getting back to her old self’.
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Hide AdEthel, who is due to celebrate her 100th birthday on June 16, said: “I had a difficult start to life. When I was born my parents were told I would never walk, so when I did it came as a big surprise to everyone including the doctors.
“I then went on to be the first women crane driver in my effort to help in the war. So with Covid-19 I felt like I took it in my stride. I had a few days where I was feeling tired and off my food, but then I began to feel better now I am over it and looking forward to my 100th birthday next month!”
Ethel was born on Duke Street, near the city centre, and has lived in Sheffield all her life.
She began work at 17 washing glasses in her local pub before joining knife makers Joseph Rodgers, where she became a head of department.
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Hide AdShe also worked at Jessops Hospital as a housekeeper and for the Salvation Army, and after retiring she continued volunteering until the age of 79.
Staff at the care home where she has lived since 2017 told how they had been supporting her by, among other things, whizzing up special home-made milkshakes.
Donal McFadden, manager at Wood Hill Grange, said: “We are so pleased to see Ethel doing so well. We are already getting started with preparations for Ethel’s 100th birthday next month. We will be sure to make it the biggest one yet!
“We are so incredibly proud of our team and their commitment to caring for our residents despite the challenges of Covid-19.”