14. Iron Lung
Many children’s lives were saved in the 20th century by the iron lung, which took over respiration while their paralyzed bodies fought off Polio. The iron lung, also known as a tank respirator or negative pressure ventilator, was invented in 1927 by Philip Drinker and Louis Agassiz Shaw Jr. The iron lung became an all-too-common sight in hospitals during the Polio epidemics of the 1950s in the United States. Many children only needed to use the giant machines for several weeks while their bodies fought off the infection, but some unfortunate children never regained their full nervous system capabilities and had to remain in iron lungs for the rest of their lives.
Life in one of the machines was an extraordinary experience. Those living inside one could only speak during the exhalation phase of the device. Eating and drinking had to be carefully timed to avoid choking during the inhalation phase of the machine. An iron lung patient, Larry Alexander, described the immense impact living in the machines had on the lives and minds of patients, saying, “There was a tremendous psychological element at work in all of us in our relationship to the lung. The metal respirator assumed an almost animate personality and became a symbol of protection and security…. We were incomplete embryos in a metal womb.”