The End of an Era: Martha Lillard and the Last American Iron Lung

For more than seven decades, Martha Ann Lillard lived with a machine that had become one of the most recognisable symbols of the polio epidemics of the twentieth century.

On 26 June 2026, Martha died at the age of 78 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Following the death of Paul Alexander in 2024, she was believed to be the last known person in the United States still using an iron lung.

Martha contracted polio in 1953 when she was five years old, before the widespread rollout of the polio vaccine. The virus left her unable to breathe independently, requiring lifelong respiratory support from an iron lung, a negative-pressure ventilator that mechanically expanded and contracted the chest to allow breathing.

At the height of the polio epidemics in the 1940s and 1950s, hospital wards across the United States contained rows of iron lungs caring for children and adults affected by the disease. Advances in vaccination and modern ventilator technology gradually made the machines obsolete, and over time almost every patient was able to transition to newer forms of respiratory support.

Martha was one of the very few who continued to rely on an iron lung throughout her life.

Despite significant physical challenges, she remained active in many aspects of life. She painted, wrote poetry and songs, volunteered in animal rescue and maintained friendships through online communities. In early 2026, she married Baha Salh after the pair had spent more than two decades building their relationship online.

According to reports, Martha’s health deteriorated after developing long COVID, which further affected her already compromised respiratory system. Her death certificate recorded chronic pulmonary failure and post-polio syndrome as the causes of death.

Her passing represents more than the loss of one individual. It marks the closing of a chapter in medical history that many younger healthcare professionals have only encountered in textbooks.

The iron lung became a symbol of both the devastating impact of infectious disease and the extraordinary advances made through vaccination, medical engineering and respiratory care. Today, thanks to widespread immunisation programmes, naturally occurring polio has been eliminated from the United States, and iron lungs have disappeared from modern clinical practice.

Martha Lillard’s life stands as a reminder of the resilience shown by thousands of people who lived through the polio epidemics, while highlighting how dramatically healthcare has evolved over the past 70 years.

As healthcare continues to advance, stories like Martha’s help preserve the memory of an era that transformed medicine forever.

Stay informed with the stories shaping health and social care.

Register with The Daily Round for the latest sector news, exclusive investigations, wellbeing content, workforce insights, expert features and practical updates—delivered free to your inbox.