By Emily Gross, Senior Manager of Program Development and Outreach
Today’s Front Line Hero is Tillie Dybing of Detroit Lakes, Minnesota. Tillie is a resident of the senior living community Ecumen Detroit Lakes and has survived COVID-19 at the age of 107.
This is the second global pandemic Tillie has experienced in her lifetime. She was nearly five years old when the 1918 flu pandemic spread to her childhood home in North Dakota and vividly remembers playing by her parents’ bedside while they recovered from the illness. Tillie also survived a battle with uterine cancer at the age of 95 and has endured many other hardships throughout her life, including the loss of several siblings in their infancy, three major floods in Minot, North Dakota, and the loss of her beloved husband.
Thankfully, Tillie has fully recovered from the coronavirus and aside from feeling fatigued, she did not experience a fever or severe symptoms. Staff of Ecumen Detroit Lakes enthusiastically welcomed her back to her apartment after a few weeks in quarantine. “We continue to be so grateful to see that smile and hear her infectious laugh each day,” they posted on Facebook, adding, “She is such a blessing to our community!”
The Ecumen Detroit Lakes is one of 35 communities operated by Ecumen, a provider of compassionate care for seniors throughout the Midwest and Tennessee. Tillie is certainly a living example of resilience and we are thankful to Ecumen Detroit Lakes for celebrating her each day.
