Hey come visit my site.

You can see me now and then in the drop down box upper right under "mars".
My art is there too.

http://360.yahoo.com/m...xL2KQ6sG75FYT8GuteNe

Christie, The iron lung is not painful if the pressures are adjusted right. Your friend's must not have been. There is no need for any positive pressure, and the negative pressure is just like natural breathing. The noise is not much if the lung is running right.

I sleep in one and have for 53 years.

Here's my site:
http://360.yahoo.com/m...xL2KQ6sG75FYT8GuteNe

Stephen, to me, the vent like Chris Reeve used is just asking for an infection coz it blows air into your lungs through hoses which can't ever be completely clean. in my case, the forced air causes asthma. So I still sleep in the iron lung.

http://360.yahoo.com/m...xL2KQ6sG75FYT8GuteNe

You can see me here by viewing my photos under "Mars" in the upper right drop down box.

Sure hope they don't trash these lungs!
There are some of us out here still using them and we need parts!!!

http://360.yahoo.com/m...xL2KQ6sG75FYT8GuteNe

Click drop down box on my site in the upper right and you can see me in my iron lung at age 5. I still sleep in one, but the one I have now is like these pictured here. It's an Emerson.

I am still sleeping in one of these!

http://360.yahoo.com/m...xL2KQ6sG75FYT8GuteNe

See the drop down box upper right and choose "Mars" then "view photos" ;)

Bobby, I still sleep in an iron lung.
http://360.yahoo.com/m...xL2KQ6sG75FYT8GuteNe

Choose the drop down box upper right and choose"mars" and the "view photos". I think my pic of me in the lung is there.

My father made big contributions to the March of Dimes so the lung I had was paid for many times over. They were manufactured by both Drinker Collins in Massachusetts and by Emerson who designed the Emerson tank which I have now.Mr. Emerson's sons, Will and George, now run the Emersons company and they market inexsufflatorsa machine that helps those who can't cough well).

As for the weight, my father easily loaded my respirator into a trailer we had for traveling. It had a wench in it, and he would crank that and it was soon loaded. On the back of the trailer he had painted"Have Iron Lung Can Travel". We got a lot of waves and honks from passing cars as we vacationed!

You do need to have a 36" doort o get the lung into a room and the room needs to be fairly large because the respirator is about 14' when opened.

My pic is on my blog along with my art and friends.

http://360.yahoo.com/m...xL2KQ6sG75FYT8GuteNe

Choose "art" or "mars" in the drop down box upper right and then "view photos" and you can see me and my art.

Henry I will send you an email. I sure hope these lungs pictured here are not going to be destroyed because Respironics and many private citizens need parts from lungs badly now.

PS. an iron lung weighs 800 pounds