The Last Polio Patient to Use an Iron Lung Has Passed Away

Martha Ann Lillard, the last polio patient to use an iron lung in the US, has passed away at the age of 78. Lillard's life was marked by the challenges of living with a device that was becoming increasingly difficult to maintain.Lillard contracted polio in 1953, at the age of 5, and was left with severely impaired breathing ability. She was subsequently fitted with an iron lung, a full-body respirator that was commonly used to treat polio patients at the time.Lillard was one of the few people to contract polio before the vaccine was introduced in the US. Although she was eventually able to walk again, her lung capacity never fully recovered.Unlike other polio patients, Lillard found that modern respiratory devices did not meet her needs, and she continued to use the iron lung for most of her life. In her later years, she developed post-polio syndrome and long Covid, which required her to use the device 24 hours a day.Lillard's sister, Cindy McVey, noted that some parts of the device dated back to the 1940s and were now extremely difficult to obtain. McVey stated that they had spare motors but were unable to find a technician or expert who could install them when needed.