It would be fair to say the odds were against 94-year-old Francis Cashin when he contracted coronavirus while in hospice care in an assisted living facility in Longwood, Florida.
But despite the bleak outlook, Cashin has managed to pull through, and it turns out this resilience runs in the family.
Cashin’s father, John Cashin, had his own brush with a pandemic over 100 years earlier.
When the Spanish flu struck in 1918 John’s family had been torn apart, but he managed to survive, later meeting his second wife Nina.
The couple had three children including Francis.
And while his prognosis looked grim at times, Francis pulled through just as his father did.
“What are the odds?” said Francis’ son, Mike Cashin.
“He’s a very strong-willed person.”
Good genes? Coincidence? Either way it’s a great story.
