Martha Lillard
American polio survivor (1948–2026)
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Martha Ann Lillard (June 8, 1948 – June 26, 2026) was an American polio survivor who, following Paul Alexander's death, became the last known person who still relied on an iron lung. She contracted polio in 1953, when she was five years old.[1]
June 8, 1948
Martha Lillard | |
|---|---|
Lillard in 1953 | |
| Born | Martha Ann Lillard June 8, 1948 Shawnee, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | June 26, 2026 (aged 78) Shawnee, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Known for | Last known person to use an iron lung in the United States |
Early life
Martha Ann Lillard was born on June 8, 1948, in Shawnee, Oklahoma.[2][3] She has a sister named Cindy and a brother-in-law named Daryl.[4]
Life in the iron lung
Lillard celebrated her fifth birthday on June 8, 1953, with a party at Joyland, an amusement park in Kansas. On June 17, 1953, she woke up with a sore throat and pain in her neck. Her family took her to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with polio.[5]
Later, she spent six months in the hospital, placed in a negative pressure ventilator informally called the iron lung, to help her breathe. In the end, she chose to use the iron lung for the rest of her life, sleeping in it nightly.[5] In an NBC News interview in 2012, she said that when she was first put in the iron lung, "it was a huge relief."[6] She says of the ventilator, "That's what keeps me healthy. That's what heals me. That's what allows me to breathe the next day."[3]
Early in the 21st century, Lillard became trapped in her iron lung when an ice storm came through Oklahoma and her emergency generator failed to start, leaving her trapped in the device without heat. She struggled to call 911. She described the experience as "like being buried alive almost, you know – it's so scary."[7]
After the death of Paul Alexander on March 11, 2024, Lillard became the last known person in the United States to still rely on an iron lung.[8]
Personal life and death
Lillard spent much of her time alone. She painted, watched old Hollywood movies, and took care of her beagles. She sought isolation throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, seeing her relatives in the evenings.[1]
She was homeschooled for most of her childhood and unable to participate in most extracurricular activities, although she still remembered wanting to go camping with her siblings. She could not have children or hold a steady job because of her physical limitations.[1]
In a 2021 interview segment about her by National Public Radio, Radio Diaries, and All Things Considered, she said she was having trouble finding replacement parts to keep her machine running.[6]
Lillard died from complications of long COVID-19 on June 26, 2026, at the age of 78.[9]