Over his 102 years of life, longtime Philadelphia resident Donald Russell (“Russ”) Dahlburg has achieved so much — though he humbly waves compliments away with his characteristic “no big deal” attitude. As a teenager, he worked alongside his father on ships hauling coal and limestone across the Great Lakes. After college, he was drafted by the U.S. Army following the attack on Pearl Harbor and spent two years stationed in China. He worked in the steel industry for several decades after World War II, all while building a life with his late wife, Madeline, and raising four sons. It wasn’t until he turned 96 that he finally decided to retire from his job at a local print shop.
Yet even Dahlburg — who was born just as the third wave of the 1918 influenza pandemic was gearing up, and who, at age 89, stood in the November rain for five hours to watch his beloved Ohio State Buckeyes triumph over the Michigan Wolverines — could not entirely prepare for the challenges of COVID-19.
This past winter, Dahlburg’s senior living facility was hit hard by COVID, and he was admitted to Pennsylvania Hospital after he tested positive for the virus just a few weeks before his 102nd birthday.
Though Dahlburg had always been healthy and initially didn’t show symptoms, his son Ted was terrified. “We didn’t know if we were going to lose him. It was unimaginable that we would send him to a hospital in the middle of pandemic, then never see him again,” he said. “I think there’s something unstoppable in my dad, but we also know the care he received at Pennsylvania Hospital was life-saving.”
Dahlburg was “floored” by the support he received throughout his 10-day hospitalization. The Patient & Guest Relations team laminated family photos for him to keep in his room, and his care team kept his son Ted updated since the family was unable to visit. Ted noted that even after his father’s own lifetime of hard work, persistence, and courage, the extraordinary efforts of Pennsy’s clinical and non-clinical staff “made a huge impression on him,” prompting his dad to quip, “These are tough jobs. I don’t know if I could do them.”
Since January, Dahlburg has resided in a local skilled nursing facility, where continued treatment has literally got him back on his feet. He is using his walker to get around and enjoys in-person visits with his family.
“We didn’t foresee this bright future for Dad back in December. Dealing with his COVID-19 diagnosis was overwhelming, but we feel so blessed,” said Ted Dahlburg. “Where he’s at now [in his recovery] is pretty remarkable, and it all started with the incredible care he received at Pennsylvania Hospital.”
A Special Bedside Visit
When CEO Theresa Larivee learned that the hospital’s oldest COVID-19 patient to date had been admitted, she diligently followed the then-101-year-old’s progress and was determined to meet him as he recovered. While rounding 4 Cathcart with Michael N. Braffman, MD, an infectious disease specialist and chair of Medicine, Larivee donned full PPE so she could spend some time at Dahlburg’s bedside. Not only was he touched by her visit, but staff across the unit were moved by this “remarkable gesture.”
As Braffman recalled in a note to his colleagues, he and Larivee shared a “delightful exchange” with Dahlburg before the retired lieutenant colonel “tenderly dismissed us with, ‘Carry on.’”
“I cannot think of a finer example of leadership in crisis,” Braffman continued, applauding Larivee for “truly leading by example, never asking any of us to do what she would not do herself, and setting the tone for compassion and courage.”