Iron lung record holder dies

An Australian woman who spent more than 60 years in an iron lung to treat polio has died, aged 83. June Middleton, who died at a Melbourne nursing home on Friday, was struck down with polio at 22 and marked 60 years in the iron lung on April 5.

She celebrated the milestone with friends and her dog, Angel, by her side. At the time, she described life spent in an iron lung for 16 hours a day in matter-of-fact terms.

''It's hard to explain but it's what you gotta do, make the most of it, get over the obstacles on the way,'' she said.''It doesn't pay to be miserable,'' she said.



Ms Middleton's passion for dancing was one of the biggest blows dealt by the disease.

But it was no match for letting go of Noel, the love of her life whom she was set to marry the same year she was diagnosed with polio. He stood by her for five years, before eventually marrying and having children.

But she reportedly kept a faded photograph of herself in her wedding gown in her room for the rest of her life. Ms Middleton entered the Guinness World Records in 2006 as the person who had spent the longest time in an iron lung.