The last surviving polio patient using an iron lung has passed away in Oklahoma, according to the Associated Press.
Martha Lillard, who was diagnosed with the disease at age 5, passed away on June 26, 2026 at the age of 78 due to “chronic pulmonary failure and post-polio syndrome,” according to her sister, who also attributed the death to long COVID, the AP reports.
Lillard is the last known US polio survivor to be using an iron lung machine, according to the AP.
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