The Chonkerton

Martha Lillard, last known US polio survivor using iron lung, dies aged 78

health

The last known person in the United States who lived with polio and relied on an iron lung to breathe has died. The Guardian reports that Martha Lillard of Oklahoma, who contracted polio at age five, spent most of her life inside the cylindrical metal device that helped her breathe. She was seventy-eight. According to an online obituary cited by the paper, Lillard died on the twenty-sixth of June.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/12/martha-li...

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