Hours each day in an iron lung kept her breathing, her will to live kept her alive

Hours each day in an iron lung kept her breathing, her will to live kept her alive Image source, Cindy McVey HandoutImage caption, Martha Lillard's sister said her sister had limited photos in the iron lung as she did not like being photographed in her bedByAna FaguyPublished14 July 2026, 03:19 BSTUpdated 3 minutes agoMartha Lillard was the last polio patient in the US who used an iron lung but her family told the BBC she never let it slow her down.Even with the large metal device encircling her body for hours each day for most of her life, Lillard found a way to drive a vehicle, took up painting and cared for her beloved beagles."[Lillard] was resilient, she would find a way, or make do," her younger sister, Cindy McVey, said.The Oklahoma resident passed away at the age of 78 late last month. While her official cause of death was listed as post-polio syndrome and chronic pulmonary failure, McVey attributes her sister's death to the effects of long Covid-19. The iron lung uses a negative pressure system. Powered by a motor, its bellows suck air out of the cylinder, creating a vacuum around the patient's body and forcing the lungs to expand and take in air. When the air is let back in, the same process in reverse makes the lungs deflate. Tens of thousands of people relied on iron lungs to live, following polio's peak in the 1950's. For some 73 years Lillard used the machine to stay alive. Image source, Cindy McVey HandoutImage caption, Martha Lillard did not feel uncomfortable in the iron lung, the way other children with polio did, her sister saidShe did not fear the machine, the way some children did. "It recharged her and made her feel better," McVey said.When Lillard was diagnosed in the mid 1950's, talk and concern of the incurable disease was all consuming.Even Lillard herself, as a five-year-old, knew and worried about the disease, her sister said. "Martha woke up and she couldn't lift her head off th...