Martha Lillard, last US polio patient using iron lung, dies at 78
Her sister said complications from long-haul COVID-19 and post-polio syndrome contributed to the death of the 78-year-old, who used an iron lung for decades.
- Martha Lillard, the last known American to use an iron lung, died in Oklahoma on June 26 at age 78. Her passing marks the end of an era for patients who relied on the mechanical respiratory devices.
- Diagnosed with polio at age 5 in 1953, Lillard became permanently dependent on the iron lung as the virus surged across the United States. Vaccination campaigns later slashed case numbers, leading to the disease's elimination by 1979.
- Despite constraints, Lillard pursued an active life, using the internet to form connections and marry Baha Salh in February. Sister Cindy McVey noted, "She had the enthusiasm and the drive to continue living."
- Lillard's respiratory health declined during the coronavirus pandemic, with McVey attributing her death to long-haul COVID-19. In final years, she spent nearly 24 hours daily inside the iron lung as repairs became impossible to secure.
- The iron lung, which uses air pressure to force breathing, has become obsolete alongside widespread vaccine availability. Lillard's death signifies the conclusion of a generation's reliance on the technology that saved thousands during the 20th century.
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135 Articles
Martha Ann Lillard died at 78 years of age after the failure of the steel lung that she used for more than seven decades. The lack of spare parts to repair the historic machine marked the outcome of one of the last survivors of polio.
With Martha Lillard, the last known polio survivor who was dependent on an iron lung died. She had been infected in 1953 and became 78 years old.
The American woman depended on an artificial lung made in the 1950s to live; after contracting coronavirus, her health deteriorated even further.
After her polio illness in childhood, Martha Lillard was dependent on an iron lung all her life. With her death, the last use of this historical technique probably disappears.
Her lifesaver has long been a case for the museum of medical history: the American woman Martha Lillard, who became a child of polio, was considered the last person to need an "iron lung". Now she has died.
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