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America’s oldest person wants the same thing as everyone else — for the pandemic to end.
Thelma Sutcliffe, 114, of Omaha, became the oldest person in the US when 116-year-old Hester Ford died on April 17, according to the Gerontology Research Group.
Sutcliffe is currently living in a locked down senior center, and her longtime friend, Luella “Lou” Mason, says she just wants to be able to entertain a lunch guest.
Mason has power of attorney over Sutcliffe and is allowed to visit her in her room. He said the country’s oldest woman can’t wait until the center’s dining room allows visitors.
“She asks me every time I visit, ‘Are you going to eat with me today?’” Mason said. “It breaks my heart that I can’t.”
Sutcliffe’s senses aren’t what they used to be, but her mind is “very sharp,” according to Mason.
“Thelma is as determined as ever to do what she wants to do,” her friend said.
That includes not sticking a swab up her nose for a COVID-19 test.
Sutcliffe, who is now vaccinated, looked at the swab and said, “’You’re not going to be sticking that thing up my nose. You can tell Lou to stick it up hers,’” Mason recalled.
Sutcliffe is now the seventh oldest person in the world, according to researchers.
With AP wires
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