With the death of Polio Paul,
Martha Lillard
– “Polio Martha” – became the only American citizen with polio who
depends on an iron lung to survive
.
The 75-year-old woman suffers from poliomyelitis, a serious viral infection of the spinal cord that was practically eradicated thanks to the appearance of a vaccine and mainly affected children.
Martha had just turned five when she felt an abnormal sore throat and stiff neck.
Her family took her to the hospital without knowing that from that day on she would spend six months hospitalized and that from then on for the rest of her life she would have to depend forever on a device weighing more than 300 kilos.
Lillard recalled in an interview that the night before she was paralyzed there were children who ate from the same plate as her and that, once news of her illness began to circulate, there were “prayers” in her town that no one would contract the disease.
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When he was very young he was affected by poliomyelitis, which paralyzed almost his entire body and condemned him to spend almost all his time inside a machine that allows him to breathe.
But he kept his spirit high and led a life of many accomplishments.
A shocking story that is an example of resistance.
“If my mom had the opportunity to get me the vaccine, she would have done it,” Lillard told NBC News.
What is it like to live in an iron lung?
Lillard depends on a 800-pound machine to survive.
However, despite having paralyzed muscles,
he can walk under his own power
.
He learned this over time.
In a note for Radio Diaries, Martha stated about the machine: "It is what sustains me. It is what heals me. It is what allows me to breathe the next day.
I see it as a friend
, as a very dear friend." .
Martha contracted polio when she was 5 years old.
The machine is yours.
His entire body fits inside except for his head.
It works with a ventilator belt motor that pushes air into the lungs using an external negative pressure ventilation (ENPV) method.
Inside the lung there is a feather duvet and sheets that make life more comfortable.
“
He feels wonderful if you don't breathe well
.
When they first put this on me it was a great relief,” the woman said.
Although Martha, unlike Polio Paul, can walk, she prefers to spend time on the respirator because it is the best way she has found to receive air.
The woman learned to walk on her own.
Lillard lives with her three beagles and a woman who helps her with her basic needs.
She talks on the phone, watches movies, uses the computer and tries to keep a sense of humor.
According to the executive director of Post-Polio Health International in 2013, Lillard was one of six to eight polio survivors in the United States.
Today, more than ten years later, she believes that she is the last.
What is polio?
According to the Mayo Clinic, polio is a disease caused by a virus that primarily affects the nerves of the spinal cord or brain stem.
The material that is inside the device and contains the woman.
“In its most severe form, polio can cause a person to be unable to move certain limbs, also called paralysis.
It can also lead to breathing problems and sometimes
death
, ” reports the specialized site.
Although there are practically no cases, the polio virus continues to spread in areas with low vaccination rates.
Countries at highest risk for polio tend to be in Africa, the Middle East, and South and Central Asia.
The death of Polio Paul
Paul Alexander,
the man who lived inside an iron lung for more than 70 years, died today at 78.
“I lost everything: the ability to move, my legs couldn't support me and then I couldn't breathe,” said Paul Alexander, the American whom many called "Polio Paul."
The Texan was one of the last people in the world who still depended on an iron lung to live.
Paul Alexander died at 78 years old.
Alexander, 78, was confined.
His life was sustained by being "tied" to a huge machine that oxygenated him since he contracted polio, one of the most famous deadly diseases of the last century.
His infection had occurred seven decades ago, when he was just 6 years old.