99-year-old Brackenridge woman gets covid vaccine

As 99-year-old Martha Platt waited in the New Kensington Rite Aid on Saturday for her turn to get the covid-19 vaccine, her mind flashed back over almost a century’s worth of memories from her busy and, at times, trying life.

She remembers being sent away to live with her grandmother and aunt at 3 because her two sisters were sick and had to be quarantined, one with whooping cough and the other with typhoid fever.

So this is not the first quarantine Platt, a lifelong Brackenridge resident, has lived through.

But that’s made it no easier for her. Platt has 17 great-grandchildren, and she misses seeing them along with her eight grandchildren. So she was determined to get vaccinated.

“I’m not afraid at all,” Platt said. “I’m doing this so I can see my great-grandchildren. I have 17 of them, and there’s another on the way.”

The fact is, Platt has had to give up a lot since the pandemic forced people like her into isolation some 10 months ago.

“I miss my church, miss seeing my friends and miss seeing the children,” Platt said.

Instead, she’s filled the time doing crossword puzzles, reading books and watching TV, a far cry from her normally busy life.

Finally, when it was Platt’s turn to be injected with the Moderna vaccine by pharmacist Greg Kline, she didn’t flinch.

“I feel OK,” Platt said. “I’m glad to get it.”

Platt was accompanied by her 64-year-old daughter, Cheryl Platt Huet of Harrison.

“I’m glad my mother was finally able to get the shot. It’s important for her mentally and to keep her around,” Huet said. “She wants to see her family. She hasn’t seen some of them for quite a while, so that’s important.”

While she waited for the vaccination process and paperwork to be wrapped up, Platt had more stories to share.

There was the amusing one about how she met her husband. It seemed that one day in 1940, handsome King Platt was driving along Freeport Road when he spotted Martha waiting at a trolley stop.

From the moment he set eyes on Martha, King just knew he had to meet her. So he followed the trolley until she got off and followed her for another block to her house. Eventually, he summoned the courage to knock on her door.

She said she was just as smitten with him.

“He asked me if I wanted to go out sometime, and I said yes,” Platt said.

Martha and King were married in August 1941. Four months later, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, prompting America’s entry into World War II. King enlisted in the Navy the next day. He shipped out the following June.

“He was on a troop transport ship, the USS Merak. They said one of the most dangerous jobs you could have was carrying the troops,” Platt said. “He made 14 trips across the ocean.”

King kept a journal he shared with Martha but never discussed any of his harrowing wartime experiences with anyone else. He died in 1995.

As she departed the Rite Aid with her daughter, Platt’s thoughts were about her future — once again seeing her great-grandchildren and friends and attending services at First Presbyterian Church in Tarentum.

And there is a 100^th birthday to look forward to Jan. 13.

“I’m blessed,” said the lady who wore pearls to her vaccination. “I count my blessings every day.”