Last U.S. Polio Survivor Dies as Iron Lung Breaks Down
TL;DR
Martha Ann Lillard, who contracted polio in 1953 and spent decades breathing in an iron lung because modern respirators could not meet her needs, died at 78 after the machine began breaking down and could not be repaired, following a long battle with COVID/long COVID; a tornado had previously knocked out power to her device, underscoring access-to-care challenges for aging life-support equipment.
- Last U.S. Polio Survivor in an Iron Lung Dies After the Machine Began to Break Down and No One Could Repair It AOL.com
- Last U.S. Polio Survivor in an Iron Lung Dies at Age 78 People.com
- Oklahoma woman, the last American in an iron lung, dies at 78 KFOR.com
- The remarkable life story behind America’s last iron lung user Cleveland.com
- Last American polio survivor in an iron lung dies at 78 KRON4
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