Last known iron lung user dies

Martha Lillard, the last known individual to rely on an iron lung for survival due to polio, has died at the age of 78. Her passing in Oklahoma marks the end of a significant chapter in medical history, as the iron lung, once a symbol of the fight against the disease, fades into the past.

Lillard contracted polio in 1953 at the age of five, an infection that led to permanent paralysis of her respiratory muscles. She required the use of the iron lung, a large metal cylinder that assisted breathing through pressure changes, for the rest of her life. Despite her severe physical limitations, Lillard remained independent and creative, pursuing painting, poetry, and music.

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The apparatus to which she owed her survival was long considered a symbol of the severe illness.

Her sister reported that Lillard's health had been deteriorating, exacerbated by two COVID-19 infections. Maintaining the decades-old iron lung became increasingly difficult, with spare parts from the 1940s becoming scarce and repair technicians unavailable. Polio, a contagious viral disease that can cause paralysis and death, is now nearly eradicated globally thanks to extensive vaccination campaigns, which have saved millions of lives and prevented widespread paralysis.

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Spare parts from the forties were hardly obtainable anymore, and besides, no one could be found who could repair the device.