Martha Lillard, last US polio patient using iron lung, dies at 78 in Oklahoma

Martha Lillard, the last U.S. polio patient dependent on an iron lung, died at 78 in Oklahoma on June 26, defying doctors' predictions that she would not survive past age 20. Despite being paralyzed from the neck down since contracting polio at age 5, Lillard lived an independent life, attending school, traveling, driving, and eventually marrying after meeting her husband online. Her death was attributed to chronic pulmonary failure and post-polio syndrome, with her sister suggesting long-haul COVID-19 contributed to her decline.