May 12, 2009: Martha Mason

[xoxoxoBruce]

Neatorama pointed to this New York Times obit for Martha Mason, a most amazing woman that lived 60 of her 71 years in an iron lung.

Martha Ann Mason was born on May 31, 1937, and reared in Lattimore, a small town about 50 miles west of Charlotte. In September 1948, when she was 11, Martha went to bed one night feeling achy. She did not tell her parents because she did not want to compound their sorrow: that day, they had buried her 13-year-old brother, Gaston, who had died of polio a few days before.

I remember quite well the chilling fear of Polio in the 40s and early 50s. A friends mother had Polio a youth, and walked with crutches the rest of her life.

With daily visits from her teachers, Martha resumed her studies, graduating first in her high school class. She entered Gardner-Webb College in Boiling Springs, N.C., receiving an associate’s degree in 1958.

Afterward, Ms. Mason and her iron lung were transported by bakery truck to Winston-Salem, where she enrolled in Wake Forest College. There, she joined a student group seeking to integrate the campus. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Wake Forest in 1960.

At both colleges — they are now universities — Ms. Mason lived with her parents in a campus apartment and attended lectures by intercom. At both colleges, she graduated first in her class.

So now she's got an education, but back home with her diplomas she is still in an iron lung. So what does she do... get a job.

Returning to Lattimore, Ms. Mason began writing for the local newspaper, dictating her articles to her mother, Euphra.

And

That changed in the mid-1990s, when Ms. Mason acquired a voice-activated computer with e-mail capability and Internet access. The computer brought her the world. It also let her contemplate writing her memoir, which is subtitled “Life in the Rhythm of an Iron Lung.”

And, thanks to the other woman in the picture, became a movie star.

Ms. Mason is the subject of a documentary film, “Martha in Lattimore,” released in 2005 and directed by Ms. Dalton. She also appeared in “The Final Inch,” a documentary about polio that was nominated for a Academy Award this year.

Oh, you're latte wasn't stirred right this morning... screw you. :p

[ZenGum]

There, she joined a student group seeking to integrate the campus.

I bet she was a champion at the sit ins!

[smesa]

you people are amazing. this is a woman who lived a whole interesting and happy life, who kept hope and kept BEING and made more of her life than most people with all the opportunity in the world. most all of you post comments that first of all reveal your complete lack of understanding about what makes life worth living and secondly, look like they have been posted by a bunch of simplistic, hormonal junior high boys. So, just leaving the cellar permanently now. was looking for intelligent comment and conversation. loooking... nope. not here.

[Trilby]

I'm gonna miss that smesa person. He or She was a deep thinker, a compassionate reasoner and a well-rounded philosopher; a student of Life, if you will.

It's just too bad that he/she didn't have the "joie de vivre" that even a woman in an iron lung has.


long, wistful sigh *here*

[Medic63]

Originally Posted by smesa

you people are amazing. this is a woman who lived a whole interesting and happy life, who kept hope and kept BEING and made more of her life than most people with all the opportunity in the world. most all of you post comments that first of all reveal your complete lack of understanding about what makes life worth living and secondly, look like they have been posted by a bunch of simplistic, hormonal junior high boys. So, just leaving the cellar permanently now. was looking for intelligent comment and conversation. loooking... nope. not here.

The original post was full of admiration for the lady, and there was one semi-cheeky type of reply. Therefore, in your opinion, there is no intelligent comment and conversation on the whole forum?

[capnhowdy]

Ms. Mason was truly an awe inspiring individual. We could all learn a lesson from her. May she rest in peace.
I am at a loss for recipes on this IotD... Oh well.... there's always tomorrow.

@ smesa: Lighten up. Don't take life so seriously. And NEVER take the Cellar seriously. You will be greatly missed. Your one parting post was phenomenal. Almost.

[ZenGum]

Recipes? It's clearly a boil in the bag job.



Well, that will have driven Smesa off for good! Bwahahahahaaa. I am honoured that a single post of mine can be taken as a representative sample of The Entire Cellar.

[classicman]

The pressure is on Zen! lol

Leaving permanently? WTF did he/she sign up just to tell us he/she was leaving? Get a life. You won't be missed. We didn't get to know you, nor you us in the first place.

Oh and I read your name as smegma.

[dacliff]

Morning, been a lurker for some time and finally decided to jump in...

So, aobut iron lungs, is this the best we can come up with for a paralyzed diaphragm? I mean, come on, how about something for just the torso or a pacemaker-esque implant that contracts the muscle? At least paint some flames on the side or something...

Oh, and btw, what a woman! The human mind and it's perseverence never cease to amaze...

[glatt]

Intubation. But then you got a tube jammed down your throat. This has to be more comfortable.

[Alluvial]

dacliff, apparently the negative pressure respirator (iron lung) is better than the modern positive pressure respirator for some conditions. I don't think that there are many iron lungs left tho.

[Medic63]

There is also a tracheostomy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracheostomy ),
but then there is difficulty talking and eating. Not to mention the phlegm.

[wolf]

An amazing lady. I also had no idea that there were still iron lungs in use.

I guess there hasn't been a lot of pressure to innovate?

[Flint]

Originally Posted by smesa

I like to buttƒuck dead dogs in the arsehole, AND YOU PEOPLE WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND THAT.

We'll miss you, and your many wonderful contributions. Unless this account, created on May 12th 2009 (today), was a sock puppet made for the sole purpose of that one post. In which case you're still here (most likely) and don't have the guts to tell us how you feel under your normal username.

[DanaC]

hahahah. Flinthopper is wise.