Last American to use an iron lung dies at 78 years old after childhood polio diagnosis

A 78-year-old Oklahoma woman who was diagnosed with polio as a child and was the last American to rely on an iron lung to live has died. Martha Lillard found out she had the once-feared disease when she was 5 years old, which left her paralyzed from the neck down, and required her to use the machine to help her breathe while she slept. Lillard contracted COVID-19 twice during the pandemic, which left her in the machine nearly 24 hours a day. DEADLY LEGIONNAIRES' DISEASE OUTBREAK SPARKS CONCERN I