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Last American to use an iron lung dies at 78 years old after childhood polio diagnosis
- Martha Lillard, 78, died after living with polio since childhood age 5, which left her paralyzed from the neck down
- She was the last American to depend on an iron lung for breathing assistance throughout her life
- Her death marks the end of an era for a medical technology once critical during polio epidemics
Martha Lillard contracted polio at age five and relied on an iron lung to breathe, but COVID-19 left her dependent on the machine nearly 24 hours a day.
