Who is Martha Ann Lillard? The husband, cause of death and legacy of one of America’s last iron lung polio survivors
Martha Ann Lillard, believed to be the last person in the United States to survive polio in an iron lung, died on June 26 at the age of 78. Oklahoma After living with the effects of polio for more than seventy years.
Her sister, Cindy McVey, said her long-term COVID-19 infection severely worsened her health. Her death certificate listed chronic lung failure and post-polio syndrome as causes of death.
Lillard contracted polio shortly after he turned five. Doctors reportedly told her family that she was unlikely to survive past the age of 20. Instead, she lived another 58 years. “She had the passion and drive to continue living and live life to the fullest,” McVeigh told The Associated Press.
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Who is Martha Ann Lillard?
Martha Ann Lillard was born in Oklahoma and was diagnosed with polio during the years when polio was one of the most feared diseases in the United States. The infection left her paralyzed from the neck down and she relied on an iron lung to survive.
The iron lung was a large negative pressure ventilator that mechanically helped her breathe while she slept. The machine surrounds much of a person’s body and stimulates breathing by changing internal air pressure. It helps a person breathe when their ability to regulate their muscles is compromised or breathing becomes too difficult.
To accommodate her needs, her family also equipped a specially designed trailer to take her iron lung on road trips. “To me, it’s normal,” McVay said.
Despite his severe physical limitations, Lillard lived as independently as possible and received an education. As a child, she attended primary school for two hours a day before going home for tutoring. Later, while attending Shawnee High School, she used an intercom system to communicate with professors and classmates at home.
After receiving intensive treatment, she was able to regain partial use of her legs and left arm. She cooked her own meals and lived alone for many years, although she still couldn’t lift her arms.
Lillard writes poetry, songs and volunteers with animal rescue groups. According to her own obituary, she was an active supporter of the Humane Society and often helped rescue beagles through online volunteer work.
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Martha Ann Lillard’s husband
The Internet changed Lillard’s later life in unexpected ways. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, she joined online forums to better understand world events.
There she met Baha Salh, an Egyptian national.
The two had an online relationship for more than 20 years. Salh subsequently obtained a U.S. visa. They married in February, just months before Lillard’s death. McVeigh called the couple “soul mates” and said Salcher was devastated by her death.
“He was devastated,” McVeigh said.
In recent years, Lillard’s family has struggled to find technicians who could repair her aging iron lung because so few were still running.
“But now that she’s the last one, we don’t need it anymore,” McVeigh said through sobs.
