Who is Polio Martha, the only American living in an iron lung: “I see him as a friend”

With the death of Polio Paul, Martha Lillard -“Polio Martha”- became the only American citizen affected by polio depends on an iron lung to survive.

The 75-year-old woman suffers from polio, a serious viral infection of the spinal cord which has been practically eradicated thanks to the appearance of a vaccine and which mainly affects children.

Martha had just turned five when she felt an abnormal sore throat and stiff neck. Her family took her to hospital without knowing that from that day she would remain hospitalized for six months and that from that moment on for the rest of her life she would have to depend forever on a device weighing over 300 kilos.

Lillard recalled in an interview that the night before she became paralyzed there were children eating from the same plate as her and that, once news of her illness began to circulate, there were “prayers” in her city that no one contracted the disease. .

“If my mother had the opportunity to get me the vaccine, she would have,” Lillard told NBC News.

What is it like to live in an iron lung?

Lillard depends on an 800-pound machine to survive. However, despite having paralyzed muscles, he can walk alone. She learned this over time.

In a note to Radio Diaries, Martha said of the machine: “It’s what sustains me. It’s what heals me. It’s what allows me to breathe the next day. I see him as a friendlike a dear friend.”

The car is yours. Her whole body goes inside her except her head. It works with a ventilation belt motor that pushes air into the lungs using an external negative pressure ventilation (ENPV) method.

Inside the lung there are duvets and sheets that make life more comfortable. “It’s wonderful if you don’t breathe well. When they put it on me for the first time it was a great relief,” she said.

Although Martha, unlike Polio Paul, can walk, she prefers to spend her time on a respirator because it is the best way she has found to get air.

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 maintain 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, it is believed to be 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 brainstem.

“In its most severe form, polio can leave a person unable to move some limbs, also called paralysis. It can also lead to breathing problems and, sometimes, death”, reports the specialized site.

Although there are virtually no cases, the polio virus continues to spread in areas with low vaccination rates. The countries at highest risk for polio tend to be in Africa, the Middle East, and South and Central Asia.

The death of Paolo with polio

Paolo Alessandro, The man who lived inside an iron lung for more than 70 years died today at the age of 78.

“I lost everything: the ability to move, my legs wouldn’t support me and then I couldn’t breathe,” said Paul Alexander, the American who many called “Polio Paul.” The Texan was one of the last people in the world who still depended on an iron lung to live.

Alexander, 78, was confined. His life has been supported by being “tied” to a huge machine that oxygenates him since he contracted polio, one of the most notorious deadly diseases of the last century. His infection had occurred seventy years ago, when he was only 6 years old.