The story of Martha Mason-a woman who lived 60 years in a capsule

All of us are dissatisfied with our lives and often believe that fate is unfair to us. But at such moments, it is worth remembering that there are people in the world for whom life has prepared pain and despair, but they did not give up and enjoy every minute given to them. Such a person was Martha Mason, who was a hostage of the capsule for 60 years, but did not lose heart.

Martha Mason was born in 1937 and until the age of 11 was no different from other American girls. She played with the children, went to school, and helped her mother around the house. But in 1948, trouble came to the Mason family home — first Martha's older brother died of polio, and then the girl herself fell ill.

The girl survived, but the disease confined her to bed and made her a completely helpless invalid. In just one month, Martha's muscles atrophied and she lost the ability to move. Soon her condition became more complicated by the fact that she lost the ability to breathe independently.

Martha Mason was rushed to the clinic, where she was placed in a capsule of a breathing machine. This was achieved by changing the pressure in the internal volume of the device, in which the entire body of the girl was enclosed, except for her head.

Doctors warned Martha's mother that her daughter could not live in the capsule for more than a year, but everything turned out differently. In this machine, like a snail in a shell, Mason lived 61 years. Thanks to the complex machine that became her body, as well as caring parents and loyal friends, Martha continued to live in spite of everything and tried not to be inferior to ordinary people in anything.

She not only graduated from high school with excellent grades, but also received diplomas from two prestigious universities. Martha Mason chose the profession of a journalist and got a job at one of the local newspapers. At first, the immobilized daughter was assisted by her mother, who typed articles at Martha's dictation.

After the advent of computers, the work was automated — the program recognized speech and translated it into text. Martha Mason had an obvious journalistic gift and her articles were popular, sometimes more so than those written by healthy colleagues.

Separately, it should be said that for all the years of life in the capsule, Martha never complained about her bitter fate. She always kept her presence of mind and showed a good sense of humor. Of course, she understood that her life without the disease would have been very different, but she tried to find positive things in everything and not be discouraged.

Martha Mason had a lot of friends and, incredibly, she hosted parties and dinner parties. This amazing woman, whose spirit was harder than the steel capsule that surrounded her, enjoyed every minute of her difficult life and had no time for sadness.

About her life inside the device, the journalist wrote the book "Inhale-exhale: life in the rhythm of the artificial respiration device". Martha Mason's autobiographical novel makes it clear how stupid it is to blame fate for small failures and spend your life on depression and self-flagellation.

Martha left her capsule rarely and for a very short time. She could have died at any moment during those 60 years and it's scary to realize that. Mason passed away in 2009 at the age of 71, and her story is a lesson to all those who walk and breathe, but do not appreciate what they have.

There are many people in the world who cannot be called people with "disabilities". They live brighter and more socially useful lives than most of us.