News.Com.AU


February 01, 2007 10:26pm

AS world records go, it's not one that sets any sort of enviable
challenge for others.

But 57 years relying on an iron lung is something that has - quite
literally - breathed new life into Melbourne polio sufferer June
Middleton.

Tomorrow, Ms Middleton, 80, will be presented with a certificate from
Guinness World Records, for the longest time spent in an iron lung.

Ms Middleton contracted polio in 1949 at the age of 23 and now spends
18 hours a day at Austin Hospital's Bowen Centre inside the machine
which helps her breath.

"She is an incredibly positive lady and the most remarkable thing
about her is that relying on her iron lung for so long is not a
negative thing to her," Austin Health spokeswoman Lara McKay said.

"She is very sharp, witty and engaging."

A fanatical Carlton supporter since 1940, Ms Middleton would mark her
unusual milestone while watching team players train tomorrow, Ms
McKay said.