Martha Lillard, the last known person in the United States living with polio and relying on an iron lung, has died at the age of 78. She passed away on 26 June in Oklahoma, according to an online obituary.
Life with polio and the iron lung
Lillard contracted polio at age five and spent most of her life dependent on an iron lung, a cylindrical metal device that helped her breathe by changing air pressure to force air in and out of her lungs. Despite this, she attended grade school for two hours daily and completed the rest of her education through tutoring.
“They told her she wasn’t supposed to live past 20 years old,” said Cindy McVey, Lillard’s younger sister, in an interview with the Associated Press. “She had the enthusiasm and the drive to continue living and make the best of her life.”
Cause of death and family support
McVey believes that the effects of a long-term case of Covid-19 contributed to her sister’s death. According to McVey, Lillard’s death certificate lists chronic pulmonary failure and post-polio syndrome as the causes of death.
Lillard’s family enabled her to travel, taking road trips to Missouri in a custom trailer. Her father contacted hotels in advance to ensure their doors were wide enough to accommodate her iron lung. Lillard was also able to drive for a period of time.
A symbol of a feared disease
During the 1950s, as polio swept across the US, iron lungs became a powerful symbol of the greatly feared disease. In an interview with NBC News in 2013, Lillard described the first moment she was put into the iron lung as “a relief”. “It feels wonderful, actually, if you’re not breathing well,” she said. “It makes all the difference when you’re not breathing.”
Lillard’s death comes two years after the death of Paul Alexander, a Texas man who spent much of his life in an iron lung after contracting polio at age six. Alexander, paralyzed from the neck down, became an inspirational figure, earning a law degree, writing a memoir, and creating paintings using a brush held in his mouth. He also died at age 78 and was recognized by Guinness World Records as the “longest iron lung patient”.
Polio elimination and vaccination
Before vaccines became widely available, polio was among the most feared diseases in the US, with yearly outbreaks leaving thousands of people paralyzed, most of them children. Iron lungs helped save thousands of lives during those epidemics, though they were intended only for short-term use. As vaccination campaigns expanded in the late 1950s, the machines largely disappeared and were replaced by other breathing devices inserted directly into the throat.
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says widespread vaccination reduced annual US polio cases to fewer than 100 in the 1960s and fewer than 10 in the 1970s. In 1979, polio was declared eliminated in the US, meaning it was no longer routinely spread.
