Martha Ann Lillard, 78, the last woman in the country who depended on a so-called "iron lung" her entire life, has died in the USA. This is a special apparatus that creates reduced pressure around the human body, causing the chest to expand and the lungs to inhale air. Such devices were widely used in the mid-20th century to treat people who lost the ability to breathe independently after contracting polio, KFOR TV channel reports .
Martha contracted polio in 1953 when she was just five years old. At that time, about 35,000 people in the USA suffered from the disease, and approximately half of them became paralyzed. Two years later, mass vaccination began in the country, thanks to which the USA officially announced the eradication of polio in 1979.
Lillard later recalled that the first symptoms appeared on her birthday. She woke up with severe neck pain and could no longer lift her head from the pillow. A few days later, the girl lost consciousness, and doctors connected her to an "iron lung," which saved her life. Unlike many children, she was not afraid of the huge apparatus and said she was simply happy to be able to breathe again.
Martha spent the first six months in the hospital. Almost all of this time — about 23 hours a day — she was in the capsule, and only one hour was dedicated to rehabilitation. Gradually, she learned to walk again, but her right arm remained completely paralyzed, and her left arm worked only partially. At home, her grandfather improved the apparatus by installing an additional motor so that Martha could open it herself from the inside.
Throughout her life, she repeatedly tried to use modern artificial lung ventilation devices, but none of them could provide the necessary level of respiratory support. Therefore, she continued to use the "iron lung." In her best years, the apparatus was only needed during night sleep, which helped maintain the function of her only functional lung.
The illness seriously affected Martha's childhood and youth. She could only attend school for about an hour a day, missed her prom, and did not receive a high school diploma because she could not study according to the regular curriculum. Despite this, Martha led an active life. She rescued homeless dogs and lizards, painted hundreds of pictures, wrote poems, and was married twice. She met her second husband, an Egyptian native, online in 2005, and he later moved to live with her in Oklahoma.
For a long time, Martha remained independent: she cooked for herself and took care of herself. However, the COVID-19 pandemic significantly worsened her condition. She contracted the coronavirus infection twice, after which she suffered from shingles and faced long-term consequences of COVID-19. For the last eight months of her life, she could not go a single hour without the "iron lung."
Over time, the apparatus itself wore out considerably. Some of its parts were manufactured in the 1940s, and there were almost no specialists left who could repair or replace them. Last year, after a tornado, the electricity went out in Lillard's home, the emergency generator failed, and her husband was forced to maintain Martha's breathing using mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until rescuers arrived.
Martha Ann Lillard died on the last Friday of June, eight days after giving her last interview to a local TV channel. Her life became an example of exceptional human resilience, who, despite a severe illness and complete dependence on a special apparatus, was able to live a long and fulfilling life.
We told you: "Don't think this is small change"! Data revealed on how much income tax Belarusians in Lithuania transferred to various public structures 24
Comments