Last U.S. polio patient with an iron lung dies at 78 in Oklahoma

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: NBC News

July 11, 2026, 1:06 PM EDT / Source: The Associated Press


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 Covid. 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. As a child, she went to grade school for two hours a day and was tutored the rest of the time. She attended Shawnee High School by using a phone system that allowed her to interact with her teachers and classmates through an intercom in her classrooms.

Her family went on road trips to Missouri thanks to a custom trailer and her father calling hotels to find out if they had doors wide enough to accommodate the machine Lillard slept in. Lillard was even able to drive for a time. “To me, it was just normal,” recalled McVey, 75.

Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/last-us-polio-patient-iron-lung-dies-78-oklahoma-rcna493255

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Brainworm host is trying to Make Polio Active Again.

[hlthe2b]

1. I'd venture to guess less than 15% of Americans knew that there were still survivors in iron lungs

(if they even knew what an iron lung was) this past decade-- Martha Lillard now being the last.

There was a documentary about one about 15-20 years ago--a male--that was titled "Breathe" (as I recall). It was never widely released and before streaming services, so it never got more than just a mention at the Oscars and not much more--obviously not widely released.

RIP, Ms. Lillard. Your life was full of challenge, but I do hope it was rewarding as possible.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. What a miraculous life she led! Amazing that she didn't need to be in it all the time.

"Free at last, free at last! Thank Almighty God, I'm free at last!"

[LetMyPeopleVote]

3. There is now no living person using an iron lung Because vaccines work

Link to tweet

[Renew Deal]

5. That's some complex messaging

Considering everyone is dead

[littlemissmartypants]

4. ...

[LtTx]

6. I am one of the "lucky" ones

Had polio in 1957. I was 15 months old. Wore a leg brace up to my thigh thru 6th grade. I have a leg length discrepancy of 1.25inches. Drop foot on other leg. About 7 ortho surgeries at Shriner's Hospital in Shreveport. Spent the 5th grade 9 months and again in 7th grade in the hospital. Retired in 2021 after 37 years as an RN. Worked in the US, UK and Ireland. I lift weights 2 times per week and walk 2 miles 4 times a week. I feel extremely lucky!!