The Extraordinary Life of Martha Mason Who Lived in an Iron Lung for Sixty Years

Martha Mason lived in an iron long for 60 out of the 71 years she spent on earth and she had a more fulfilling life than many ‘normal’ human beings will have. The iron lung (or a negative pressure ventilator) is a cylindrical steel drum with a central chamber where a human being can be placed. The drum has a door which allows the head and neck to remain free while the rest of the body is enclosed in an air-tight compartment. The ventilator enables a person to breathe when normal muscle control has been lost or when they find it extremely difficult to breathe.

Despite living in this immobilised state, Martha, who was born on May 31, 1937, in Lattimore and became paralysed from polio at 11, still went ahead to high school and college. She also wrote a book, Breath: Life in the Rhythm of an Iron Lung. She defied not only doctors, who had given her just a year to live but also death by going ahead to live for 60 more years of excitement. She finished high school at the top of her class and went to two colleges, where she received an associate’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in English. She was a writer for a local newspaper. She later wrote her memoirs, which she was able to finish with the aid of voice recognition software. She also spent her time hosting dinner parties, book club meetings and travelling around the world.

Martha died at the age of 71 in 2009. She had spent 60 years in the ventilator but her zest for life was never dampened. Her seemingly helpless situation was never able to prevent her from living a fulfilling life. In 2003, during an interview, she declared, “I’m happy with who I am, where I am… I wouldn’t have chosen this life, certainly. But given this life, I’ve probably had the best situation anyone could ask for.” Martha might have been physically limited but she was not mentally limited. Her movement might have been hampered, her imagination was not. Her abilities were obviously not many but her desire was huge. Hers is an unbelievable story of optimism and vivacity in the face of gloom and seeming hopelessness.

Martha’s life has again demonstrated that the way I respond to circumstances is what matters. Situations do not define me, my response does. My attitude in or to any situation is what is important. This is why I agree with John Maxwell that though attitude may not be everything, it is nevertheless the difference maker. Martha had the right perspective about her situation and she did not dwell on it. Hear her, “‘It has become such a normal thing for me – I don’t even think about it – I really never give it a lot of thought.” What an amazing person! 

It is important that you keep the right perspective in whatever situation you find yourself because, according Joel Osteen, “We all face challenges, but it's not the size of the problem that's important, it's our perception of the problem; it's how big or small we make it in our minds.”