Iron Lungs

What color do you want, Honey. You have to wear it forever so choose wisely.

can you imagine being trapped in one of these things? i couldnt do it, not even for a few minutes.

I want the red one!!!

I want the peach colored one=),no,seriously I don't.

This is a major find! Great Picture but stirrs up real saddness.... have you ever seen these machines in any other hospitals youve been to motts?

motts, if you do, I want desperately to see that!!!

My mother had polio. She got it the year before the vaccine came out. Thank God she did not require one of those.

Priceless shot!
I get clausterphobic just looking at those things. Between 30 years in an iron lung and death, neither one particularly appeals to me!

ive heard of these but never saw one till now thank you mr.motts..great photo

Oooohhh, my goodness! Your photos, Motts, I am rendered agape!

Thank you a million times for sharing your amazing work!!!

*ahem* coffee table books with these photos will sell big! (hint-hint)

Wow, you've GOT to get at least one of these out of there. I bet the UE folks would love giving each other "rides" in them for kicks. Gee, don't know if that's dangerous. It's certainly not such an amusing thought for those old enough to recall their frequent use (polio). Nice links on the Drinker as well! Good work!

for you electro-shock therapy device, possibly the Mutter Museum in Philly?

im completley shocked by this picture. If i had seen this with my own peepers i think i would have lost control of my bodily functions. creepy as hell!

I don't think most people were in these for thirty years. If I'm not mistaken, most folks did improve over time and regained some use of their bodies. I think some even made pretty complete recoveries. I don't know if I am allowed to mention the name of an author here, but a certain writer of racing mysteries told in his autobiography of how his wife had polio when she was pregnant with their first child. She was in an iron lung through most of the pregnancy, but she recovered completely and the child was perfectly fine.

I would like to pass on my symaphthy to the man's family as he was in an Iron Lung for 50 years and he died did this week. In Shenton Park WA I did'nt know him or his family but it must of been a very hard life to live.

There is a person that has been in an iron lung for 55 years. She lives in Jackson, TN and her name is Diane Odell. So it is possible for someone to stay in one for a long period of time.

Oh geez!!! That's as long as my parents' have been married. (January 14, 1950)

THAT'S INCREDIBLE!

Actually here I think they look like the "cooties" in the Cooties game.

there's one in "The Big Lebowski" movie, when the Dude and Walter go to Larry Sellers house to destroy the Corvette. In fact, the father of Larry Sellers is in an iron lung, with this fucking breathing noise.

I have never seen one before..very interesting and informative. Those belong in a museum.

Kudos mott. This is the neatest pic I've seen yet on your site. Been stuck in this site for two days now, hehe.

As a young child in the early 1960's, while visiting a neighbor who was in the hospital, I clearly remember seeing two similar machines lined up at the end of a corridor ... the sight scared me then and still does today. Superb picture.

motts,, motts,,

There is one more older iron lung in ((worse shape than these that he is still looking for. I hope to find an authentic electro-shock therapy device in somewhere other than a museum, myself.))
they are not museum peices, I am a nurse and have seen it first hand. I was a new grad, you hook them up, to monitor their heart, connect them to a vent, give them a drug so they can't move. and then they shock them. weird, 15 to 30 min later they are talking to you.
weirdest thing that I have ever done in nurseing... it just felt sooooooooo wrong.

http://jacksontn.clubw....com/DianneODell.cfm

Check out this link. I believe the article helps place another perspective on these machines. Hope you all have the opportunity to check it out.

Iron Lung- just the name of it alone is terrifying, and then you see a picture of one!!!!!

I didn't know that iron lungs came in FASHION COLORS! All the kids will WANT ONE!

are you sure those aren't the liquid soap containers for the small "lamp" soap containers above the sinks?

wut the hell are they still doing here are they being stored or somthing?I bet they dont even work!

iron lung sounds like the opening band for meatloaf or something

Re Roody's comment on 2-14-06 and the web link to Dianne O'Dell. Can you imagine being imprisoned in an iron lung for 56 years and still have the life force to write her friends and write a children's book!!

Thanks for the link.

What I would like to know is if these machines ever hindered some patients from improving? I know that there were people that absolutely needed/need these to survive, but did some people get better?

motts amazing photos checked out the extra of the ward and have to say its crazy to think that this was the only way for so many . seeing it in person has to be weird

The only people that were put in iron lungs were those whose paralysis caused them not to be able to breathe on thier own. The polio would affect the nerves in the spinal column. The parts of the body that were paralized were determined by which vertebrae were affected by the polio. My mother's polio paralyzed her from the waist down. One more vertebrae and she would have required an iron lung. I am sure there were problems with bed sores. I imagine they did everything they could to make the polio patients more comfortable. And yes, some people did get well enough to leave the iron lung. Although there are still a few people still using them today.

I am glad that some got well enough to "toss away" their iron lung. It certainly gives a new meaning to the word FREEDOM.

Yellow was my fav one

Henry, that is so cool!

I used to have the yellow one.

Now is the chance for everyone to ask who has had questions as to what it is like to have to use one of these devices, as not only do we have someone here who used to use one, but he used to actually use one of the very machines we are seeing here.

For some reason, maybe it's just me, but these machines seem more futuristic than the 40's-50's. Not these machines in particular, I mean the idea behind them. Who comes up with these ideas? LOL! :)

there are meny sites if you google "iron Lung" you'll find it. You can ask me any question you like. heck email me if you want. garfieldhen34@aol.com

given the choice between death and more than a year in one of these id choose death

Brian H
I tell people all the time that you don't know how you would handle things like that unless you had to. I had to. Death is slow when you can't breath.

And Henry knows what he is talking about.

you ppl make me sick

Why Josh....????

Yeah, why Josh? Would you want to be stuck in one of these for the rest of your life??

no the way you all joke about it. it is not very nice

Josh dear....we have posts here from a man that spent time in one of these. He's educated us all and none of us are cracking jokes. Its called being light-hearted. Because we know if we didn't laugh or we'd cry.

Sian , Josh is partly right. I have seen some things wrien on here that was less then light hearted. I only cried when I felt alone. Walk a mile in my shoes as the saying goes! you all can email with ? mydisabilitytalk@hotmail.com

I saw one of these when I was about 10 years old, it was in operation, & it shocked me. Here I am 47 years later, been through a war and a quarter-centruy student of the martial arts, & I still get shock waves up & down my spine. I believe they weigh about 600 pounds--I understand there are around 50 people still using iron lungs (the more portable ventilator has replaced them) and I read about a year ago that they do not make replacement parts for them anymore. I used to complain that I am not in the shape I used to be and the racquetball game is getting slower...I just stopped complaining! Case closed! BTW your photography not only captures an image, but also the emotion. Kudos.

Do an Ebay search on "Quack medecine" or something similar, there are alot of antique "quack" medical items for sale, such as "voilet Ray" machines..search that too), and HOME elctro shock devices. They are usually wooden boxes, very plain, with terminals, a sponge and room for an old dry cell battery... for instance:

http://search.ebay.com...mp;fsop=1&fsoo=1

Hey people! We really are out here you know. I had Polio at age 5 in 1953 and was paralyzed all over at first. I relearned walking and use of my right arm and hand. I have slept in the iron lung almost 54 years now. My grandad made equipment so I can get into and out of it by myself.
In 2000 I had to buy a new one (($9000) and now it looks like I coulda had one free..isn't that life!
The negative pressure ventilation is the reason I'm alive. It is natural like real breathing, and does not force air into your lungs through hoses that can cause lung infections.

I have a pic of me in my lung from '53 if anyone if anyone wants a copy.
Mars

PS. an iron lung weighs 800 pounds

Martha L....what company did you purchase an iron lung from-I didn't even think they were manufactured anymore...also 800 pounds, how does one manage to get such equipment into a home, up steps, etc.

Martha L I would like to see that please. I've been usuing a port alung for a while now. These were pretty cool when I lived here. garfieldhen34@hotmail.com

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.

Holy Cow! came back for another look at these pictures...... wow, there are so many posts! WTG Motts!

For 12 years I suffered with a lung disease (I am 15 now) and when I see these at makes me scared to wonder if I would have been put in one of these if I was from the 50's ... it creeps me out ... just a little!

Pictures like this make me think of that whole "anti-vaccine" movement that's happening. Some parents today don't give their babies vaccines because it's "not natural"!! If they had grown up with diseases like polio; if they had seen how sad it would be to have to live in one of these machines instead of being able to go outside and run and play, maybe they'd think differently. Maybe they'd see how wonderful it is that we have advanced so far in the field of medicine that we can prevent these diseases...

I was 15 and got polio and was in an iron lung at night. I had leg braces and wore them in the lung. They kept my legs straight and prevented distortions. After a year I was weaned from the lung.

Do they do laundry as well?

ms valley village calif I was in one in the epidemic in 1948 at 7 yrs old.I remember it as if it was yesterday.Thanks mom for helping me
come back.8 years later i swam in the city swim championships on one breath

I have always wondered, how would you go to the bathroom in one of those things.

I live in Melbourne Australia and am currently working with 2 people in iron lungs - one woman is 80 years old and has been in the lung for 50 years due to polio. The other is a young man of 43 with muscular dystrophy. They appear scarey and ancient but they have provided these 2 people a chance at life that a tracheostomy style ventilator could not. Fantastic photos by the way. Cheers

The lung on the right is in a museum now.

http://www.publichealthmuseum.org/polio.html

Nice! I'd love to see it (since I doubt I'll get to the abandoned ones any time soon).

I have pictures of the iron lung in the museum. Go to www dot myspace dot com/ mydisabilitytalkradio

motts can you please email me

mydisabilitytalk@hotmail dot com

Why would they leave something like this behind!?

The additional "iron lung" photo you provided a link to was sobering...my best to Henry, glad these iron lungs came in colors and again, I learn so much from this site.

OMg !I really have sypathy for those survivors!i would really hate it in there!

i"d rather die

Swedish-American Hospital in Rockford,IL is searching for an Iron Lung. They are hoping to find one to exhibit in a proposed museum they plan to build for their Centenial Celebration in 2011. Pleae,contact them if one is available.I was born in 1946 and remember the fear of Polio as a child. One of my memories is my picture in local newspaper getting my Polio Vaccine at school.Thank you and God bless,

John Veer
Strawberry,Arkansas

I'm glad institutions are more humane now. I've been in some great ones. This is one of the most attractive websites, photo collections on the internet. Motts...you are a god.

Just imagine the buffet you could serve with these!! With just a few adjustments they could keep food warm or cold for hours, and the well placed doors and windows so you can keep an eye on thing. Then when it's time to serve you just roll out the table!

Just to let you know that Diane Odell, age 61, of Jackson, TN died yesterday after being confined to an iron lung since age 3. Her parents, now in their 80's, were so dedicated to caring for her. You can read articles in our local newspaper at jacksonsun.com

With all the technology nowadays,they couldn't transfer to a system like Christopher Reeve had sitting up ? I don't understand why her life could've been less confining near the end of her life. Very tragic...God Bless her....R.I.P. Dianne

Great article about DIanne, with a video. RIP

http://www.latimes.com...ay29,0,7229858.story

Sorry....bad link above.

http://www.latimes.com...ay29,0,4714211.story

Sad that Diane Odell, the longest survivor living in an iron lung pass away this year due to power failure, very tragic, my condolences to her family. Only if you have been in one to realize what it was like for her all her life. Myasthenia gravis affected my chest and lung muscles to contract so I had to spend several years in one . Luckily for me my muscles regain mobility and I got my freedom back.

My mom was stricken with Polio and was pregnant with me....I was born in an iron lung..almost 60 yrs ago..My mom was not so lucky she did not survive a day after I was born..

Thank you for this site it sure has opened my eyes!
Makes me sad to think that this is where my mother was...must not be easy to be in one.
God bless all of you that have had polio and managed to overcome most of what this horrid disease does.

Thanks again in so many ways..

C

Wow....it makes me cry when I think about these poor people in these iron lungs... i am so thankful that my 2 lungs are working fine.

I have a vintage F Geiger Co elctric shock machine, its in a stand up cabinet with a glass front that slides up giving access to the dials etc. The dials are set in a marble slab. Itysd a great looking piece.

I think it should consider the peteint's best friend not an enamy.

I call the red one!LOL

That article about Diane (RIP) was so touching. What a great set of parents she had. So dedicated & so loving to take care of her around the clock. Truly heartwarming. May she rest in peace as she so deserves it after living such a hard life.

Shazzorama ~ institutions are more humane now???? Did you ever think this was the top-of-the-line for that time?

Kathy ~ Christopher Reeve and his wife both made mega bucks before his accident so they could well afford all the new technology. Dianne's parents got the iron lung when she was a child and since the mother couldn't work, all they had was the father's income so this is probably the best they could do.

Many of the posts on this site disgust me !! How can any of you with any decency come on here and joke at the expense of those less fortunate. SHAME ON YOU !!!

I was 7 when I came down with the non-paralytic polio in 1954, same year the vacinne came out, and I now suffer with post polio syndrome, chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia and arthritis. I would gladly trade places with all you people who show no compassion, joke about a buffet and argue over which color you want. I have a great sense of humor but not at the expense of others. You need to grow up but most of all, you need to suffer some ailment to understand and be more sympathetic or you need to be turned over someone's knee and whipped a few times. Your parents failed miserably in teaching you to be understanding, compassionate and loving towards those who are less fortunate than you.

I was in the hospital for over a month when I had polio and I remember going by the iron lung ward on my way to therapy. I can't imagine what it must have been like, to never be able to run and play with other kids like so many of them ended up doing.

I pray God will have mercy on your souls for insulting so many of us who have survived this terrible plight.

I notice that there are pictures of their loved ones taped to the iron lung. How sad.

Hello Tom, I have been using this site as a source for a small project. It has been very helpful to opening my eyes about iron lungs and such. In order to give you proper credit for this website, I need a first and last name which I cannot seem to find. Can you please comment back as soon as possible. Thank you
Susie

I visited my grandmother in hospital in Essex when I was 5 yrs old in1942. In the same ward there were these Iron lungs. Very frightening to me at that age

i remember when i was a little kid me and my friends raised a bunch of money for some one to get a ir lung and i was wondering i think one of the persons names was henry it was so long ago /henry did you get yours from the march of dimes /we took flowers from old peoples and young// yards and made little bunhes in dixi cups and sold them there was alot of rose bushes in the nabor hood with no roses or other flowers to be founde we worked hard to help someone get one /

What did you do when you had to go to the bathroom and were in one of these things?

Awesome old picture!!!

The iron lungs here were used for guys with muscular dystrophy. I new them all. I used one myself there. The guys were in them more than I was because they a different form of MD then me. Please feel free to email me with questions. Henrykl1971@gmail.com

funny story......actaully want to buy one of these for a cavitation experiment. any ideas?

Colorful, yet scary and sad...

super crazy

eldokid, you would take your pants off, wrap a towel around you, and pee/poop in it.

anti-vaccine crowd should take a tour through here and all should understand that instead of winding up tubed and then trached on a "bird" respirator they could still talk and communicate-- "tank"worked fine and saved many lives.

MY MOTHER GAVE BIRTH TO ME IN AN IRON LUNG ON AUG.17,1954

I would like to talk to people whose mothers had polio and were in an iron lung during their pregnancy with you. My mother was in an iron lung when she was 2 months pregnant with me and staye for about 5 months

I HAVE HAD A PHOBIA ABOUT THESE MACHINES FOR THE BEST PART OF 50 YEARS NOW.ANYONE OUT THERE FEEL THE SAME ?

Yes, Malc, I have always been frightened of them since childhood. I have seen three of them in my life (an Emerson in storage at a local hospital in the 1960's when I was just a few years old and I also saw two Drinker models in use at a VA hospital in the late 1970's).

Thanks for that Bobby was begining to think i was the only one who had this hang-up. Went to London recently and reluctantly and with the help of my girlfriend actually leaned over the barrier in the Science Museum and touched one, It sent shivers right through me. But it seems the more i confront these things the less i have the night mares. Don't get me wrong these things saved lives, but my God they are awful contraptions.

Many people still use negative pressure ventilation - particularly patients with neuromuscular disorders. My fiance uses one from portalung.com to sleep. They're not so bad when you are only inside them over night. Not nearly as steampunk or as scary as the models in the picture.

I had polio in 1952. Paralyzed from the neck down. My diaphragm was paralyzed so my lungs collapsed. I was in an iron lung for 2 1/2 months. Many people who were in them, were "weaned" off of them so the diaphragm muscle could strengthen itself. I'm 64 and my breathing is sometimes shallow in very humid air, but by God's grace, I'm still kickin' with no breathing apparatus needed!

That's Very Strangee .. It's Don't Tell How It Makes It Work

i wouldn't like any of those my friends mom has one in her garage i went in a a minute AND I PANICKED!!! i almost broke it because of how tight it was.Any way if i couldn't last a minute imagine the people that spent all their childhood or even life in that.

Nathan, what was a thing like that doing in her garage ?

My Uncle used an Iron Lung for over 40 years, he just past in May 2012. My cousin's has his iron lung and is looking for someone that is still using one. So if anyone is looking for a back up iron lung please let me know.

Where are you Pat ?

Just watched Sessions. Since I spent time in an Iron Lung in the fifties, with Polio, I realize how lucky I have been. Being a kid in an Iron Lung is not fun!

Oh my...those pictures...and the posts from people who still have to use stuff like this.

May God bless each and every one of you who is still crippled by that horrible disease. Your stories are touching - as well as heartbreaking. And thank you Dr.Salk!!
!

i would love to experence to be placed in one for a few days and be treated as if I were confined to one for a long time.

I glad some of you self indulgent pricks think this is funny. the younger generation simply sucks. they have no appreciation for the suffering and sacrefices made by others thats afforded them their cushy lifestyles

Yo Tim F----its time for the bus grandpa

How much is one of these vintage iron lungs?

I acquired a 1937 Drinker-Collins iron lung from a junk yard and had it restored at Rick's Restorations in Las Vegas, home of American Restoration on The History Channel. The show (episode title "American Respiration") aired Tuesday, May 7, and will be airing more times over the next few weeks and months.

Cool story bro