Martha Lillard, last US polio patient using iron lung, dies at 78 in Oklahoma

Drinking a beer for her, she went to the high school very close by. I'm far too young to remember polio but still remember my grandparents talking about it. They had died of Covid-19 before her.

Something to remember by her is that the determination to live is something that keeps us going.

I often think about how nearly everyone in my parent's generation knew someone with polio, but I know nobody from my generation in the world who had polio

Her self-created obituary, if anyone’s curious: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/shawnee-ok/martha...

Her optimism and creativity to overcome the disability and live her life is powerfully inspirational.

I wish I could apply that optimism to my perception of a societal shift away from disability accomodations and the prevalence of vaccine hesitancy... Enabling parents to foster unvaccinated children is a guarantee that we'll get a resurgence of this type of disease.

I recommend everyone educate themselves on our immune system: the book "Immune" (ISBN: 1529360684) introduces the vast complexity in a very approachable manner. Also the podcasts through MicrobeTV by Vincent Racaniello are excellent.

its crazy that humankind can effectively end disease

Perhaps we'll be great again soon.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/heres-how-quickly...

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Wild bad luck. Polio and despite vaccination she got Covid not once but twice and died of sequelei! And recently married. That is like lightening striking, again and again and again and again.

And a good day to you, sir!