Woman, 78, who was last polio survivor to live in iron lung died because 1940s machine keeping her alive broke down and was too old to repair

By WILKO MARTÍNEZ-CACHERO, US REPORTER Published: 03:50, 11 July 2026 | Updated: 03:52, 11 July 2026 The last polio survivor in the US to live in an iron lung has died after the 1940s-era machine keeping her alive began to break down and was too old to repair. Martha Ann Lillard, 78, died on June 26 having spent more than seventy years relying on the device. She was diagnosed with polio on her fifth birthday in 1953 and could still recall the moment she fell sick up until her death. 'I woke up, and it was sunny outside, and I started to sit up, and my neck was killing me,' Lillard, of Shawnee, Oklahoma, told KFOR last month. 'I couldn't lift my head off the pillow.' Four days later, she fell unconscious and was unable to breathe or move until the iron lung effectively saved her life. 'They usually didn't like to put children in because they fought it, but I didn't,' she said. Iron lungs are airtight metal tanks which generate negative pressure to force patient's lungs to expand and contract if they are unable to do so naturally. Lillard was able to live a relatively normal life up until recently, but everything changed when she contracted Covid twice, as well as shingles. At the same time, Lillard's lifesaving iron lung started to break down, with her family explaining that the pieces were too old and hard to find to repair before her death. Martha Ann Lillard, 78, the last US polio patient who used an iron lung to survive, has died Lillard lived with just 25 percent lung capacity, scoliosis and a paralyzed right arm. She insisted that she preferred the iron lung over more modern respirators Lillard had to relearn to walk and breathe on her own after learning she had polio. She was only able to go to school for one hour per day 'Some of the parts are from the chevs of the forties, and they're hard to locate,' her sister, Cindy McVey, said. 'We have a spare motor, but we don't have anyone to put it back in if we needed it.' After being diagnosed with polio, Lillard spent six months in the hospital learning to breathe on her own. She was required to live in the iron lung for 23 hours of the day, with the remaining tiny sliver of spare time used to rehab her paralyzed limbs. But perhaps surprisingly, Lillard explained that she enjoyed the feeling of going into the iron lung because of her exhaustion. 'When I got in it, I was tired,' she said. 'Always getting in there felt wonderful.' Still, polio ravaged Lillard's early childhood, as she had to learn how to walk again and the disease severely disrupted her early life. For instance, Lillard never attended prom and she was only able to go to school for one hour per day. She was forced to take high school classes over the phone, but could not graduate since everything she needed for a diploma was not being offered by the district. Lillard learned she had polio on her fifth birthday in 1953. She had to learn how to breathe on her own and extensively rehabilitate her paralyzed limbs At one point she spent up to 23 hours inside the device but said entering into the machine was always a relief for her body Lillard learned she had polio two years before a vaccine was widely available in America in 1955. Until then, polio killed or severely paralyzed millions around the world, and thousands in the US. Though Lillard tried other, more modern respirators, she ultimately stayed loyal to her trustworthy iron lung. 'None of them could get up to 21 pounds [per square inch], which is what I needed to breathe,' she told the outlet. 'So they just weren't effective.' When she was at her healthiest, Lillard only used the iron lung for about nine hours at night to sleep. A GoFundMe fundraiser to honor Lillard's legacy after her death said she 'spent her life as normally as possible' despite living with just 25 percent lung capacity, scoliosis and a paralyzed right arm. 'She was incredibly creative, painting, writing poems, and composing music for the left hand piano,' the fundraiser read. 'Even as post-polio syndrome continued to affect her, she maintained a wonderful fighting attitude, making the most of what she had left and enjoying life as much as she could,' it continued. In the months before her death, Lillard was forced to be inside the iron lung for the entire day (Picture of an iron lung) Lillard would typically use a portable ventilator when not inside the iron lung. However, her quality of life changed when the pandemic rolled around. 'She didn't really require a caretaker until Covid-19,' McVey, her sister, said. 'She fixed her own meals and, and took care of everything herself.' A public obituary for Lillard noted that she died of long-haul Covid. Shortly before her death, Lillard was unable to breathe on her own when lying on her back and unable to sit up by herself. She had been living inside the iron lung for 24 hours a day in the months leading up to her death. However, the aging equipment had also begun faltering, which included an instance last year when a tornado knocked out Lillard's power. Her husband, Baha Seleh, was forced to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on Lillard until she received further aid.