Martha Mason, who survived 61 years without Moving

Martha Mason1/8

When Martha Mason was only 11 years-old, her big brother passed away from contracting polio. She didn’t want to tell her parents, but Martha realized she had the same symptoms. Because of the terrible disease and lack of treatment at the time, she became paralyzed.

Martha Mason's brother2/8

When she was 11 years-old, she contracted polio which left her paralyzed.

The cylinder used for treatment3/8

As a treatment for that, she was stuck in an iron lung.

Stayed there without any movement4/8

She did lie in the horizontal, 7-foot-long, 800-pound iron cylinder that encased all but her head for decades. It was assumed that Martha’s parents would outlive her.

Martha at the beginning of her treatment5/8

Even though was in the tube, she still managed to graduate from high school with the highest honors and even host dinner parties in her later years.

Martha after growing up, but was still paralyzed6/8

She had to be horizontal her entire life, but Martha chose to keep the iron lung so she would still have her freedom in many ways. She was even able to write a book with the help of voice recognition software.

Martha with her caretaker7/8

She was able to live at home with the help of caregivers. Her caregiver believed she was able to live in that situation for so long because of her strength and her strong desire to always keep learning.

Consuming her food as staying still8/8

Tragically, Martha passed away in 2009. She lived inside of an iron lung longer than anyone else. She suffered and battled for her life to live. She didn't just pass away in vain, Martha just gave an inspiration to others.