Martha Lillard, a 78-year-old woman from Oklahoma, who was the last American to rely on an iron lung, has passed away. Diagnosed with polio at the age of five, Lillard was left paralyzed from the neck down and depended on the iron lung for breathing assistance while sleeping. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she contracted the virus twice, which increased her reliance on the machine to nearly 24 hours a day.
Lillard's sister, Cindy McVey, stated that doctors had predicted she would not live past 20 years old, but Lillard continued to pursue life with enthusiasm. Despite her condition, she attended school for two hours daily and utilized a custom intercom system to communicate with her teachers and classmates from home. She also traveled in a specially designed trailer that accommodated her iron lung.
The iron lung is a type of negative-pressure ventilator that assists patients with paralyzed lung muscles. Polio was a significant cause of childhood paralysis in the early 20th century until a vaccine became available in 1955, leading to the disease's elimination in the U.S. by 1979.
Lillard regained some mobility through therapy and was able to drive for a period. She lived independently for many years and married earlier this year. She had been diagnosed with chronic pulmonary failure and post-polio syndrome, with her death certificate indicating that her condition was related to long-haul COVID effects.