DURHAM, N.C. (WNCN) – Catherine Spearman Ferrell has see a lot in her lifetime.

The 108-year-old Durham woman never thought she would see anything like COVID-19, where people are forced to wear face masks and social distance.

She hasn’t got out much in the last year.

“I have been staying at my house or at my daughter’s house,” Ferrell said. “I always keep a face mask in my pocket.”

But on Wednesday morning, this great-great-grandmother made a special trip to Central Pharmacy in Durham where was able to get her first dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.

Ferrell got on multiple waitlists. After waiting for a month, she finally got the call to come to get the vaccine at Central Pharmacy.

“It didn’t hurt. I thought it was going to hurt, but it didn’t,” Ferrell said.

Ferrell admitted she wasn’t sure if she wanted to get the vaccine at first. After praying about it, she decided to go ahead and get it after all.

“I felt like maybe someone knew better than I did what I needed, that I needed to take the shot,” Ferrell said.

Ferrell has lived through a lot in her lifetime.

In the last 11 decades, she said she remembers riding in a horse and buggy to school, surviving the Great Depression, and the leadership that got the country through different wars.

“You had some good presidents and some that weren’t so good,” Ferrell said.

She also experienced first hand the Civil Rights era, where she was often not allowed in certain businesses and there were always two different water fountains.

“I didn’t go drink out of either one of them. I drank me enough water before I left home,” Ferrell said.

She survived through all of those eras and made it to today’s pandemic. Ferrell said she is hopeful the Moderna vaccine she got today will help her survive.

She is encouraging others to consider getting the COVID-19 vaccine, as well.

“Do what they ask you to do: wear your mask, wash your hands, and take care of yourself,” Ferrell said. “Live as long as you can and die when you can’t help it.”