We don’t know what allows some elderly patients to survive a battle with COVID-19 while others succumb, but there have been dozens of stories of those over the age of 80 making a recovery.

Of course, the long-lasting effects can haunt even the very young – but it’s still cause for celebration when a centenarian manages to fight off the deadly virus.

With the world possibly set to lock down again after a spike in cases, we need all the good news we can get at this point – and Jennie Stejna is bringing it to us.

The 103-year-old woman whose family says has a “feisty, fighting spirit” tested positive for COVID-19 at the beginning of May. She was the first resident at the Life Care Center of Wilbraham in Massachusetts to do so.

Having just moved to the state from Washington, her granddaughter Shelly Gunn brought daughter Violet, 4, to visit her before her diagnosis.

And it was just in the knick of time since the care facility stopped allowing visitors the very next day.

Gunn figured it would be the only time her little girl would ever meet her great-grandmother. Once she tested positive, arrangements were made for the family to say their final goodbyes over the phone.

One can only imagine the devastation a lack of true closure would bring a family in that situation – and it’s one that many have had to struggle with.

But the Gunns got their chance to say what they needed to say – and Shelly Gunn thanked her grandmother for everything she had done for her over the years.

When her husband Adam Gunn asked Stejna if she was ready to go to Heaven her reply was a feisty “Hell, yes.”

Things looked bleak – she no longer ate or drank. She couldn’t speak. The disease was wracking her body, already weakened by age.

Alas, it looks like she’s going to have to wait for her turn at the pearly gates! The 103-year-old was given the all-clear on May 13.

She had officially recovered from COVID-19.

“This feisty old Polish grandmother of ours officially beat the coronavirus,” Adam Gunn told Wicked Local.

And how does one celebrate a second chance after over a century of life? With a Bud Light, apparently.

“She always said on a hot day, you need to have a cold beer,” said Gunn.

The staff at the care center gave Stejna her favorite drink to celebrate since she hadn’t been able to indulge for a very long time.

“She had one sip of that and you could see her eyes light up,” family member Dave Stejna told NBC Boston. “It’s too funny.”

Of course, that was after she jokingly kicked her nurses out of her room!

“The nurses came into her room, and she said, “I’m not sick anymore, Get the hell out,'” her family recalled.

Unfortunately, the family still wasn’t able to see her at the time of the story – 33 other residents were still fighting their battles with COVID-19 and care facilities were locked down to all visitors.

But it’s going to take a lot more than this coronavirus to knock this die-hard Boston sports centenarian out for the count.

“Honestly, it didn’t shock me, because just knowing how resilient of a woman she is,” said Gunn. “Of course she would beat COVID.”

Be sure to scroll down below to see this feisty Polish grandma celebrate her recovery.

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Source: Wicked Local, WICKED LOCAL South – Raynham via YouTube, CNN, NBC Boston