Martha Lillard, the last known U.S. polio patient to rely on an iron lung, passed away on June 26 in Oklahoma at the age of 78, according to her sister. Lillard’s struggle with polio began when she was diagnosed at the age of five, leading her to depend on the machine to breathe, reports BritPanorama.
Lillard’s sister, Cindy McVey, recounted that medical professionals had advised Lillard she wouldn’t live past 20, but she defied those expectations, demonstrating considerable resilience throughout her life. However, McVey attributes Lillard’s death to the effects of long-haul COVID-19, with the death certificate listing chronic pulmonary failure and post-polio syndrome as contributing factors.
Throughout her life, Lillard maintained independence despite the challenges posed by polio. She was educated in a unique manner, attending school for only two hours a day and utilizing a phone system to interact with her teachers and classmates during her time at Shawnee High School. Her family worked around her condition, using custom adaptations for road trips and enabling her to drive temporarily.
Polio, previously a major health crisis in the U.S., saw a dramatic decline in cases following the introduction of vaccines starting in 1955. Health officials reported that vaccination efforts eventually led to polio being declared eliminated in the U.S. in 1979. Lillard’s life reflected both the challenges and advancements over the decades with the disease.
As technology evolved, Lillard harnessed the internet to explore a range of topics and build connections, notably meeting her future husband, Baha Salh, online after the September 11 attacks. Following a long wait for visa approval, they married in February.
Despite her physical limitations, Lillard was described by McVey as artistic and creative, with hobbies that included poetry and music composition. During the pandemic, she contracted COVID-19 twice, leading to significant respiratory decline that confined her mostly to her iron lung. In her final years, Lillard became a subject of concern as her community sought to fix the iron lung, now rendered irrelevant following her passing.
McVey poignantly noted Lillard’s uniqueness as the last person dependent on the machine, emphasizing that there was no longer a need for it now that her sister has departed. Lillard’s life story underscores the broader narrative of perseverance in the face of adversity and the ongoing impact of historical health crises.
