Last U.S. polio patient who used an iron lung dies at 78

Martha Lillard, diagnosed with polio at age five, became the last American still dependent on an iron lung.

She lived in Oklahoma, attended grade school two hours a day and completed high school using a phone intercom system that let her communicate with teachers and classmates.

Her family adapted travel, using a custom trailer and checking hotel door widths so the iron lung could be moved. She turned 78 in June 2026.

Lillard died on June 26; the death certificate lists chronic pulmonary failure and post-polio syndrome, with her sister noting long-haul COVID-19 may have contributed.