Mirrors

There's a sticker on this one for Old Sturbridge Village http://www.osv.org/ How odd!

I'd recognize that Old Sturbridge Village grasshopper logo anywhere!

I saw what appears to be a RedSox sticker on the last photo... on the green iron lung.

This must be somewhere in New England.

haha, i moved from massachusetts to oklahoma about 4 years ago...

and i still recognized that grasshopper instantly!

SINCE IT WAS TIGHT AROUND THE NECK COULD A PERSON SWALLOW?

Yes, the could swallow, the only thing that they couldn't do completely on their own was breathe

I believe there was formerly some sort of heart stickers in the upper corners of the mirror.... for some reason, that strikes me as so very sad.

haha, kinda looks like a bent-over rhino

the osv thing cracks me up considering I grew up in sturbridge.

This doesn't crack me up. I was a very young tot when the polio epidemic was raging in this country -- this is what is called an iron lung which enabled polio patients to breathe. My mother told me about how frantic my parents were when the girl across the street came down with polio -- I had been playing with her. Luckily I didn't contract polio, but a lot of poor children did, and they had to be confined to this monstrosity, sometimes fo rthe rest of their lives. Nothing to laugh about.

I wasn't laughing at the iron lung or the polio epidemic, I was simply amused by the irony of that sticker being there because I just took my son to OSV for the first time last week.

No offense taken. But being a child right before the Salk vaccines were first administered to school children and having childhood friends who came down with the disease, the iron lungs were the only way to keep these children alive. I guess we have a lot to be thankful for today that polio is virtually wiped out in this country.

jonas salk a true libertator

You are right neogeo -- a true liberator!!

You're right Janice! A cousin of mine was only 17 and had polio, came down with it right before her senior prom. I remember my Mother telling me she wasn't allowed to see her. Thankfully my cousin fully recovered.

My mother had polio. She got it the year before Dr. Salk invented the polio vaccine. Polio was highly contagious. Those who had it had to be quarantined until the threat of passing on it on had passed. My mother still to this day walks on crutches. She never did require an iron lung. Her paralysis was one vertebrae below the one that would have caused her to use the iron lung.

I know a fun thing to do because I used to do it. I would try to make a full sentance while it would blow out before it sucked in. You can't talk well once it does and sometimes not at all.

So how long a sentence were you able to pull off?

Well not that long lol, but it was fun to try anyway.

Man, Henry, what great pix! I hadn't seen this one before. It's so great to be able to compare what it was like then and what it's like now, so thanks for both pix! Wasn't it just too coincidental when you found out it was the same place you'd been at?

Sad too like loosing something you grew up with.

One of the girls that I use to go to school with *she moved* had Polio but she only used crutches.

Another Old Sturbridge Village sticker? Someone was a fan, apparently. The turquoise-ish one a couple pictures back had an OSV sticker on it too.

All of the collars on the iron lungs so far have been the spiral type. were there no latex foam collars with the five leather straps that held them open?
Some patients, like my friend, would be choked by the plastic spiral collar before an effective seal could be achieved and could only use the foam ones, buffered by a diaper cloth to prevent chafing, sores, or even the foam from actually growing into the skin.
I mentioned under another picture that I'm modifying her "collar buster" to open and close a spiral unit. That one now has a new fleece fabric over an inner liner to get a good seal and be comfortable as well.

Hi Jerry they make a clothe one. I use this kind cause I had the same issue with the plastic ones. E-mail me and I'll see what I can do. garfieldhen34@hotmail.com

Henry, you are so danged cool! It's great to have a "resource" like you!
:-)

Are there still people in iron lungs in 2006--or have the patients been brought over to the ventilator, similar to what Christopher Reeves was on.

Stephen J There are a handful of people.

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.

Mott, I started looking at your photos for grungy photoshop backgrounds for personal projects.

2 points: 1st, they may be 'just photos' but they sure get people talking. Freaked out, immature, intelligent, from experience, sensible or just angry and ranting, your photos bring about great social debate, one way or the other.

2nd, Did anybody notice the difference in their gut reactions between looking at Mott's photos with their distance of time and lack of person - and Henry's photos with people actually in these machines?

What if (hypothetically) all of Mott's photos of morgues, mental institution wards, theatres, nurses station, labs etc had the original people in them. If 'empty' photos bring us such strong emtional responses, imagine the reality of it all. (does all that make sense, it's getting late.....

Thank you Henry, Martha, Lynne, and all the others for sharing your life experiences and photos with us. Without your help these photos would have just left a lot of unanswered questions and untruths floating around in cyberspace.

It would be nice if more patients and staff of these facilities would comment about their experiences also .

Thanks also have to go out to Mr. Motts for setting up this site and for all of the work it takes to populate it with all of these superb images.

You're welcome John R!
You (The public) should learn these things. I shudder to think if the hospitals ever have to reactivate all iron lungs.

Henry - I don't know if you still check here but i was wondering how tight the collar would get? Because it'd have to be fairly tight to make an air seal, but not so tight as to close the airways of the patient. Would it be uncomfortable? And if a seal was not properly made, would there be air rushing down your neck? My apologies if the questions are annoying or intrusive.
Carrie

Carrie
Collar would be tightened just enough. The person usually said thats enough.
If you have any other questions feel free to email me. mydisabilitytalk@hotmail.com

Henry - if you are still around. Curious - how do they make it tight. I saw one at a museum on display and it had belts.

Sorry I hope I am not being annoying, but the sheet wrap around the circular ring was like made of rubber. What I saw brought fascination and I do hope you are not offended by my inquiries.

there was story about a 14 yearold boy being in a ironlung in 1948 very interesting like being in a wheel chair ateenager can take it better then an adult sa movie should hav eben made the good part he was close to home so hos class mates cpi;d voset and it might have been one of the first hospitol TV's

Charlene
There are two little sticks type things and grab those and the whole collar moved then thightend.

Anybody has any questions about the iron lung go to my youtube channel henrysbigmouth or email me henrykl1971@gmail.com

I feel sad for the 2 boys. I read a book about this girl who had polio and survived.

It lookes like a big vaccume