Underweight baby lived to become world’s oldest person

HOOGEVEEN – The Dutch woman who at age 115 died the world’s oldest citizen two years ago, was born an underweight and sickly baby it was revealed just recently. Hendrikje Schipper Van Andel donated her body for medical research. Just recently, physicians revealed that with the exception of a stomach tumor and some problems with sight and hearing, the 115-year old enjoyed excellent health. Her brains were like those of a person of 60 to 70 years of age. Born and raised in the town of Smilde, Van Andel married later in life and had no offspring. Along with her husband Dick she settled in Hoogeveen in the early 1940s. She was an avid soccer fan and visited Queen Beatrix at her palace in The Hague in 2001.