Velma Farlin, 104, beats coronavirus

HAYDEN — Velma Farlin is 104 years old.

Recently, she contracted the coronavirus.

She beat it.

“You know, the Lord is a healer of sickness,” she said Thursday as she sat in her room at Wellspring Meadows Assisted Living facility, the place she has called home for about seven years.

While COVID-19 is especially dangerous, even fatal, to the elderly and those with compromised immune systems, Farlin said she was never scared after learning she had it. She said it left her weary and affected her sense of smell for several days, but otherwise, it didn’t hit her too hard.

And for that, Farlin is thankful.

“Amen,” she said.

Her recovery could be that she has long been dedicated to staying physically and mentally active, reading, and maintaining a positive outlook.

“I had a bicycle, one of those little bicycles, but I started getting blisters on this foot, so I had to quit,” Velma said.

She said she didn’t really do anything differently after being diagnosed with the coronavirus. Her days usually involve reading, resting, praying and eating, which is what she continued to do.

She is quick to deflect credit, even at more than a century old, for beating a virus that according to the state’s coronavirus website, is attributed with taking more than 1,700 lives in Idaho.

“I had a lot of prayer behind me,” she said. “I give the Lord credit for it all.”

Her cozy, comfortable room has a homey feel to it. It’s decorated with artwork and pictures, including one of her late husband, Clark, and her son Walter, who lives nearby

She and Clark were married more than 70 years before he passed away. Velma smiles as she talks of her late husband, a man of many talents. She said he was a home builder, barber, real estate agent and farmer.

“It seems like every six years we moved into a new house,” she said. “We were busy.”

Farlin likes to stay busy and reads often. On the tabletop before her Thursday was the book, “The Good Father” by Mike Evans.

"I love it," she said.

Underneath that was a Bible, passed down from her mother, Effie. She reads her well-marked Bible daily, with Deuteronomy and Joshua among her favorites.

“I couldn’t live without my Bible," She said.

While Velma can’t walk and gets around in a wheelchair, she said Thursday she was feeling “pretty good.”

“I get kind of tired,” she said.

She is confident that prayers made the difference in her overcoming the coronavirus. She encourages others to pray when they need help.

“I talked to my friends and they prayed for me,” she said. “I was covered with prayer. I know I had a lot of prayer.”