It is a strange, rhythmic sound. A low, mechanical whoosh-puff that has hummed in the background of a single room in Oklahoma for over seven decades. If you are wondering is Martha Lillard still alive, the answer is yes. As of early 2026, she stands as a living bridge to a terrifying era of medical history that most of us only know through grainy black-and-white photos.
Honestly, the world changed in a massive way in early 2024. When Paul Alexander—the man famously known as "Polio Paul"—passed away in March of that year, a lot of people assumed the era of the iron lung had ended right then and there. It didn't. Martha Lillard is now widely considered the last person in the United States, and potentially the world, who still relies on this massive, 800-pound vintage respirator to stay alive.
She isn't just a "survivor" in the passive sense. Martha is 77 years old. She’s outlived the manufacturers of her machine. She’s outlived the doctors who first treated her. She’s even outlived the very infrastructure designed to support the technology she sleeps in every single night.
The Reality of Life Inside a 1950s Time Machine
Most people think of the iron lung as a coffin. Martha calls it a friend.
She contracted polio in 1953. It was her fifth birthday. She had just spent the day at Joyland, an amusement park in Oklahoma. Within days, the virus had shredded her nervous system. Imagine waking up and finding your lungs just... stopped working. That’s the nightmare Martha lived. She spent six months in the hospital initially, surrounded by rows of these metal cylinders. The sound of dozens of them working at once was described by survivors as a "room full of clicking chickens."
Why is she still in it? Why not use a modern ventilator?
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You’ve got to understand how different the tech is. Modern ventilators are "positive pressure." They force air into your lungs through a tube in your throat or a mask. It’s effective, but it’s invasive. The iron lung is "negative pressure." It creates a vacuum inside the tank that pulls the chest upward, making the lungs inhale naturally. Martha has tried the new stuff. She hates it. She says it doesn’t feel like breathing; it feels like being inflated.
The iron lung allows her to breathe in a way that feels human. But living this way in 2026 is basically an extreme sport.
The Constant Battle for Parts and Power
Maintenance is a nightmare. You can't just call a repairman for a machine that hasn't been mass-produced since the Eisenhower administration. When a gasket blows or a motor fails, Martha can't go to Amazon. She relies on hobbyists, specialized mechanics, and "old-school" engineers who treat these machines like vintage Ferraris.
"It's like being buried alive almost, you know—it's so scary."
That's how Martha described an incident where an ice storm knocked out her power. Her backup generator failed. She was trapped inside the metal tube, unable to breathe properly, unable to get out, and unable to stay warm. It is a level of vulnerability that’s hard for most of us to wrap our heads around.
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What people get wrong about Martha’s daily life:
- She isn't trapped 24/7. Martha can spend several hours outside the lung during the day. She uses this time to paint, care for her beagles, and interact with her family.
- The machine isn't "broken." It’s actually quite simple—bellows, a motor, and a sealed tank. The difficulty is the leather seals and specialized fans that no one makes anymore.
- It wasn't a "choice" to stay sick. Polio damage is permanent. Her respiratory muscles are paralyzed. Without mechanical help, she would simply suffocate.
Why Martha Lillard Still Matters in 2026
There’s a reason Martha's story keeps surfacing in Google Discover and news feeds. We live in an era where "vaccine hesitancy" is a common headline. Martha Lillard is the living, breathing "before" picture. She is heartbroken when she hears about people skipping the polio vaccine. To her, the vaccine isn't a political statement; it's the miracle that would have let her become the ballerina she dreamed of being when she was four.
She has spent her life in a "yellow submarine," as some call it, because of a virus that we now have the power to stop with a simple drop on the tongue or a quick shot.
The Logistics of Survival
How does she even function? Her home is a masterpiece of adaptation. Everything is positioned so she can reach it during her "free" hours. But as soon as the sun goes down and her body tires, she has to climb back into that metal cylinder. The neck seal has to be perfect. If there’s a leak, the pressure drops. If the pressure drops, she dies.
It’s a high-stakes existence. Yet, if you listen to her interviews, she doesn't sound bitter. She sounds like someone who has made peace with a very demanding roommate. She paints beautiful, delicate art. She watches old Hollywood movies. She’s lived a full life, just in a much smaller physical space than the rest of us.
The Future of the Iron Lung
What happens when the last machine finally gives out? Martha has been clear: she wants to go out in her iron lung. She isn't looking for a modern ICU bed to spend her final days in. There is a profound dignity in her refusal to move on from the technology that saved her life when she was a little girl.
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For those tracking her status, Martha remains a symbol of resilience. She’s seen the world change from the perspective of a stationary metal bed. She saw the moon landing, the rise of the internet, and the COVID-19 pandemic—which, understandably, terrified her.
If you want to support the legacy of people like Martha, the most actionable thing isn't just reading her story. It’s ensuring that the history she represents isn't forgotten.
Actionable Insights for the Curious:
- Support Polio Eradication: Organizations like Rotary International are still working to wipe out the final pockets of polio in the world (primarily in Afghanistan and Pakistan).
- Document the History: If you have access to archives or medical history museums, look for the "Post-Polio" records. These survivors have a wealth of knowledge on "negative pressure" breathing that is actually being looked at again for modern respiratory issues.
- Appreciate Respiratory Health: It sounds cheesy, but take a deep breath. Martha has to pay for every single one of hers with electricity and vintage machinery.
Martha Lillard is still here. She is still breathing. And she is still reminding us that we should never take the ability to fill our lungs for granted.