Martha Lillard, Last US Polio Patient Using Iron Lung, Dies At 78
Martha Lillard, the last known U.S. polio patient to rely on an iron lung, has passed away at age 78. Despite being paralyzed from the neck down since childhood, she lived a full life and became a symbol of resilience in the face of the disease.
Why it matters
Her death marks the end of an era for polio survivors in the United States and highlights the historical impact of the disease before widespread vaccination.
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.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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