Martha Lillard, Last US Polio Patient on Iron Lung, Dies Aged 78

Martha Lillard, the last known polio patient in the United States to rely on an iron lung, has passed away at the age of 78. She contracted polio at a young age and depended on the iron lung machine for survival, sleeping inside the cylindrical device each night. The iron lung works by using changes in air pressure within a sealed chamber to mechanically assist breathing. Lillard's passing marks the end of a living connection to an era when polio paralyzed thousands of Americans before widespread vaccination. Her life stood as a powerful reminder of the devastating impact of polio and the medical ingenuity that helped some patients survive it.