Last U.S. polio patient with an iron lung dies at 78 in Oklahoma
Martha Lillard, the last known U.S. polio patient to rely on an iron lung, has passed away at age 78. Her life story highlights the history of the polio epidemic and the resilience of patients who lived through the era before widespread vaccination.
Why it matters
Lillard's death marks the end of a specific era in American medical history, underscoring the success of public health vaccination campaigns.
Martha Lillard had just turned 5 when she was diagnosed with polio and depended on an iron lung to live. She died June 26 in Oklahoma, the last U.S. polio patient who used the machine, her sister said. She was 78. “They told her she wasn’t supposed to live past 20 years old,” Lillard’s younger sister, Cindy McVey, told The Associated Press on Friday. “She had the enthusiasm and the drive to continue living and make the best of her life.” McVey attributes her sister’s death to the effects of long Covid. A death certificate lists causes as chronic pulmonary failure and post-polio syndrome, McVey said. Lillard slept in the iron lung cylinder that encased her body as the air pressure in the chamber forced air in and out of her lungs.
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