Hannah Deveson celebrates 103rd birthday at Adria Village after beating COVID

The fully vaccinated great-grandmother is made of tough stuff, her son Kip confirmed.

"She was in her teens growing up during the depression. She had a pretty hard childhood, she was the oldest, always looking after the younger ones," he said.

Not that she was ever one to complain. Kip and older brother Byron can never remember their mother having the flu or even a cold as they were growing up, raising six children in total.

"She's always been active and had interests. Genetics also comes into it, of course," Byron said of his mother's magnificent milestone.

There were three birthdays celebrated on Friday at Adria, with rainbow cake and party pies and cups of tea or a glass of red, if that was preferred. Some residents wore party hats. Another, Christine Vale, wore a fabulous floppy sun hat.

Celebrations for the three birthdays had all been delayed due to a month-long COVID outbreak at Adria, with the final isolation period only lifted on Thursday.

Director of nursing Bijaya Acharya said 27 residents and nine staff tested positive to COVID in the 42-bed facility.

It was a reminder of how COVID remains a constant concern in nursing homes, and how resilient all the residents and staff have had to be. For years.

Mrs Acharya said when the first positive case was detected in this latest outbreak, Adria just swung into action. It didn't go into lockdown. Casual staff were brought in to cover staff who had tested positive. Doctors prescribed anti-viral and anti-nausea medication for the residents. Families were kept in the loop. Confirmed cases were isolated but staff in PPE [personal protective equipment] still tended to them in their rooms, bringing in bedside activities for those who wanted them.

"We were going door to door to their rooms to try to be with them. A lot of people don't have families as well," Mrs Acharya said.

It was the first COVID outbreak this year at the facility, which has remained vigilant with masks and RAT tests for any visitor.

And despite the pressure and concern, they got through the outbreak. Like they had before.

"Compared to before, [the residents] were less symptomatic . There were a few nausea cases, one or two . We had doctors on board and they were prescribing in the middle of the night as well," Mrs Acharya said.

"Luckily, we had the vaccinations done about three to four weeks before so I think that was one of the reasons they didn't get too sick this time."

The staff just had to manage the outbreak. Calmly and carefully.

"I think keeping all the visitors and families informed, putting in precautions, reviewing the policies from time to time was good," Mrs Acharya said.

And it was great, she said, for the residents to be able to celebrate the birthdays together. "It is really amazing to see," she said.

Mrs Deveson, meanwhile, tested positive to COVID for the first time in her life on June 2, went into isolation for a week and was out by her birthday, June 10, celebrating it belatedly on Friday.

And she got through it all largely by her own steam.

READ MORE:

"They didn't give her any antivirals or anything, just oxygen when her saturation levels were low," her son Kip said.

And now she's 103.

"It's pretty startling. She's pretty stubborn," Kip said, with a laugh.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: