Martha Lillard, last US polio patient using 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 in Oklahoma. Lillard lived with the machine for over seven decades after contracting polio as a child, becoming a symbol of resilience for those living with chronic disability.
Why it matters
Her death marks the end of an era in American medical history, highlighting the long-term impact of the mid-20th-century polio epidemic.
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-haul COVID-19. A death certificate lists causes as chronic pulmonary failure and post-polio syndrome, McVey said.
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