"A breathing machine called an iron lung that kept a polio victim alive for almost 60 years stopped working Wednesday due to a power outage, causing the woman's death.

Dianne Odell, 61, died when family members watching her were unable to start an emergency generator to run the seven-foot long, 750-pound cylindrical chamber that helped her lungs work. Emergency crews that rushed to Odell's home near Jackson were unable to give help."

"Despite her condition and limitation, Odell was able to finish high school by studying at home and briefly took up psychology at Freed-Hardeman University on a scholarship. She also wrote a children's book using a voice-activated computer."

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7011097028