1956 Iron Lung

[@411E109]

This may look frightening, but the iron lung saved thousands of lives; including mine. I lived in one for about six months. I was thirteen years old.

[@kathybrisky]

wow, i remember getting the vaccine on a sugar cube. born in 54.

[@411E109]

***** It is not like that at all. Yes, you are confined inside a huge metal cylinder. But your head is outside, and a person in an iron lung usually can't move much anyway. When I was first put in one I couldn't move, breathe, or swallow. If an iron lung hadn't been available I would have died. Besides, we had visitors, entertainment, and we could talk to one another. In addition, most of us got better.

[@sarmadghafoor1484]

i thought people had to stay in a iron lung forever like that one woman :)

[@shunyataberlin]

sometimes - even most times - paralysis become better in time

[@paikeakehlani5392]

Wow that’s insane, I’m so glad you survived! What was it like being in the iron lung? What did you do for fun? What was the hardest part of being inside an iron lung?

[@warrenpeace910]

I had polio in 1961 and used an Iron Lung for 6 weeks. This video stirs the embers of my memory. Amazing machines! Thank you for loading this film. It means a lot.

[@paikeakehlani5392]

warrenpeace910 Wow that’s insane, I’m so glad you survived! What was it like being in the iron lung? What did you do for fun? What was the hardest part of being inside an iron lung?

[@isabelacabral5898]

Wow so happy you didnt be on it forever!!! Happy you are well.

[@runner0075]

Kudos to you, all you were heroes

[@sohansheikh1027]

How did you complete urination & toilate in iron lung?

[@VernonDCole]

Since posting this video, I spent two years in Africa working for the polio vaccinnation effot. The CDC figures that they need to vaccinate around 85% of the population in an area to stop the virus from spreading. The other 15% are often folks who believe someone who says: "don't vaccinate your kids, it's all fake." It is really sad, how much such ill informed (or in some cases, ill intentioned) words can hurt the fight against this killer disease.

[@MsColinmac]

+Vernon D. Cole Because of one case of suspected Polio in 10 years, WHO & UNICEF are giving, in many cases "forcing" 4.7 million Ugandan children to take the Oral Polio vaccine (OPV).. (discontinued in USA because of safety concerns of shedding ) .. "the risk of paralytic polio due to OPV will continue until as long as the oral vaccine is in use." American Society for Microbiology .. "The live, attenuated oral polio vaccine (OPV) is not recommended for persons with HIV infection outside resource-limited settings if the inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) is available." UCSF Medical Center. 1.2 million people Uganda including children have HIV. Bottom line.. why are millions children (including severely immunocompromised) being vaccinated with a disease they DON'T have??? when Malaria KILLS 87,000 and 15.7million outpatient cases a year, many die without being reported?????.. I hope someone can explain that to me.. you should be ashamed of yourself..

[@VernonDCole]

+collie 7 I can't address Uganda, because I have never been there. The simple answer to why OPV is given in most areas of Nigeria is economics. Third world nations tend to be, as you quoted: "resource-limited settings." The oral vaccine can be administered by relatively untrained vaccination teams who walk out into the villages and countryside and give vaccines to every child they can find (except those whose parents object). IPV must be given by injection -- which requires much more training and better controls and conditions. In the three northeastern states of Nigeria, where there is active fighting going on, they are, in fact, using IPV. In order to do so, they have to get the parents to bring the children to them. eHealth Africa, in partnership with many other organizations, organizes "health camps" where many different vaccinations and other health services are given. They use large donations of commodities to reward those who are brave enough to come in. It is a war zone after all. The master plan for the complete eradication of polio calls for the elimination of OPV in favor of IPV very soon. ---- as for malaria, there is no vaccine available. I took daily doses of antibiotic all of the time I was in Africa. It's available over the counter in any pharmacy in Nigeria -- for those who can afford it.

[@Menstral]

Yeah... that is why the most educated people don't want to vaccinate. Hygiene solved the spread of disease, not vaccines.

[@uncommonsence153]

@Peg Leg he's too far advanced in his education to understand your comment

[@soulfulfreedomheart2505]

@@VernonDCole it's very sad that still to this day Sister Elizabeth Kenny and her Kenny method is still not recognised or respected. Thank God if polio ever broke out again I know what to do thankyou to the brilliance of this amazing woman and her Work and the massive fight she had to establish it.

[@sandramorey2529]

I took a class with a Professor who was in an iron lung since contracting polio. Fortunately for me and for him, they had come up with a portable by then and he plugged it in and taught our class. Polio was so extremely scary it kept a lot of us out of swimming pools every summer.

[@PPikes]

Kudos to this guy! This was very brave and informative of him to do!

[@BishopFan1]

I got to try one for about 15 minutes once. Very scary. You absolutely cannot fight the machine.

[@danlyschik8373]

My aunt contracted polio in her 20s and spend the rest of her life in an iron lung at a hospital. She was always cheerful and positive when we went to visit her. She taught me that we have many gifts in life and most importantly the choice to remain positive in any kind of situation. Thank you for posting.

[@ayaguerrouj6986]

Do they stay there forever?? Can they get out from time to time??

[@eihfhbwerfhubwerfkuhbwerfu1509]

@@ayaguerrouj6986 every living thing dies and they said was so there aunt is dead already.

[@isabelacabral5898]

But she had a break per day, right?

[@isabelacabral5898]

@@ayaguerrouj6986 time per time patients could get out from the Iron lung, some patients used it only to sleep so during day they got free of it.

[@irisetpoppy9956]

Polios are very brave persons.

[@brandlynnyoung3123]

My Dad was born in 1951. Sounds like he was very blessed to not have contracted polio.

[@cynthiacupler8005]

I got Polio at the age of 2 years old and, now I have pps, I have good days and really bad days, I'm 76 years old, I'm very blessed.

[@vivian2217]

I'm glad that you survived so long with having had polio. I'm sorry to hear about your PPS , especially your bad days. I hope you have access to an iron lung or oxygen to assist you with your breathing. ❤❤

[@miss_michelle]

Hugs 🫂 I hope your keeping well

[@beginnersguide4556]

That was a Beautiful peace of history. Thank You.

[@Deano14397]

Very educational and great to see, respect to all the professionals and patients.

[@hobbybugs1286]

This guy is a great reporter

[@blanchae]

Thank you for posting this video. I am part of the Pandemic Ventilator Design Team preparing for the Coronavirus pandemic. Historical footage like this is ever so important in case we have to revive lost technology.

[@generaldsherman]

Grandma never minded. She was cheerful and unstoppable! Besides, eventually she got a bed which moved up and down, and was able to live out of the iron lung. She even ran an answering service with her toes!

[@idocare6538]

Wow what a cool story! Very uplifting that some folks can take bad situations and still be fantastic examples of loving life.

[@VernonDCole]

Thanks for your comments. I am in Nigeria just now, helping with the effort to finally eradicate the disease. It's not over yet, but we are getting close.

[@wallody]

This is really sad , i just can't imagine anyone living in this for couple of hours , how did all these people survived for 60 + years . Talking about problems in life , i think nothing is considered a problem next to this . Thank you for the videos , just subscribed , greetings from kuwait

[@peterfslife]

This reporter for being so new to the breathing pattern of the Iron Lung, He did absolutely WONDERFUL, and learned quickly the breathing pattern. I use a Carefusion LTV ventilator, since obviously, these Iron lungs are almost NEVER used anymore, however some patients still live inside of these things, but very very few. I am thankful that even with my trach, and ventilator, I can move around and I can play the piano, and harpsichord. Back then, if you got Polio, if you got out of the Iron lung chances are you were rehabilitated inside a large stainless steel tank known at the Hubbard Tank, which was very common back then, and in the 70s, and 80s, used frequently in the treatment of a burn patient for their debridement! If you were being weaned from an Iron lung, you might have even gotten placed onto a rocking bed as well.

[@freerightturn]

I am moved by the video. Kudos to everyone who eradicated Polio from the world.

[@VernonDCole]

They have not yet completed the eradication of polio. Here in Kano, Nigeria, all three strains of polio have been found in samples take from the city sewage. We are working on it, and they hope to have the work complete in a few years, but it goes on. Earlier this year, nine vaccination workers were assassinated here by extremists for helping with the work.

[@kathybrisky]

Vernon D. Cole how awful!

[@dog8668]

Now anti vaxxers are gonna bring it back😡

[@markarca6360]

Polio has re-emerged in some parts of the world, including southern Philippines.

[@zekiahkinley-gill2813]

Moved lol

[@sheagoff6009]

My grandma’s cousin was in an iron lung for a while. She wrote a story about it and it was really interesting. Her parents couldn’t visit her. My grandma used to send her cards.

[@porzellanmonsterchen]

Thank you very much for sharing this, extremely interesting!

[@jeromecabral7464]

I have always wanted to try out one of these have always been curious

[@anonymousanonymous7609]

Trust me u dont

[@0arrayy]

@@anonymousanonymous7609 lol

[@personlichkeit.7112]

oh dude..

[@susmitadas6114]

I hope you don't ever need to

[@personlichkeit.7112]

even if so, iron lungs are no more available nowadays

[@kx85lover]

That was very informing, It is remarkable how far we have come

[@PAULLONDEN]

As a child I found this pure horror when I saw this contraption in newsclips.I was lucky I didn't contract the virus .Being from 1951.,still remember the scare.We in Holland got treated with the ("dead") salk vaccin.Which was injected together with other inoculations.(Whooping cough,diphteria,and tetanus)

[@GeeTrieste]

***** I too remember this time as a child, and the Iron Lung with horror. It was a boogie man that was always around the corner and you did not know when it would strike.

[@vorkev1]

its amazeing how far we have come

[@MrLiam241]

Thanks for sharing!

[@jonahowen5574]

How did they use the bathroom?

[@enperry8895]

This Film About Polio Vaccine And The Last Survivor Gives Me The Chill And Even Might Have Traumatophobia The Whole Fear Of Trauma

[@fiddlemydiddle4910]

If someone dies in a iron lung do they put another person in the same exact iron lung or a new one?and will the lungs keep moving after death in an iron lung? Sorry for my bad grammar.

[@sdiubw8943f]

They would sterilize the lung and then use it again. Iron lungs were costly, and yes they would keep the lungs moving after death.

[@thisuserwentmissing]

My grandmother has survived Polio too (: She needed to be in the Iron Lung for about 3 months ... - Edit : wow my English sucked 3 years ago- I’m so sorry 💀

[@isabelacabral5898]

Wow how old is she?

[@thisuserwentmissing]

@@isabelacabral5898 I can’t remember exactly but around 82/83 since she was already 12/13 when polio hit Germany

[@matthewcounts6161]

I think I'd rather be dead. This is no way to live.

[@411E109]

Mathew - If you needed to be in an "iron lung" you would probably be gasping for air, feeling panic, and be very thankful for the iron lung. Of course, if you would rather be dead, then you probably would die. And, perhaps you didn't realize that the vast majority of those who needed this life saving equipment were able to get out again.

[@MegaMarie]

Yes i would looking now but imagine back then how they felt. A women used this for 35 years, she clearly didn't think about dying. Saved her life.

[@Menstral]

I know I'd rather be dead. This is no way to live.

[@sinistra7450]

@@411E109 did 't know people actually got out of iron lungs! Thank you for sharing some positivity and clarity!

[@goodboi6540]

@@Menstral fucking idiot

[@bellacutts9730]

Who here is in 2021

[@maryrawle7448]

Here. We're gonna need to dust off all the old iron lungs and roll them out for anti-vaxxers to use. Let's turbocharge one and turn it into a drag racer.

[@tomekalynae9474]

👀👀here

[@miss_michelle]

2024

[@sandi21515]

It's the "whoosh whoosh" that gets me!

[@sandi21515]

@gulag nobody would make fun of anybody in an iron lung, that would be a hard way to live

[@Whacc]

Iron lungs are creepy

[@tamlewis9690]

Whacc They did they job.

[@tamlewis9690]

There

[@fionabray8501]

Yes, however, they saved millions of lives

[@revivedfears]

@@tamlewis9690 *their Wrong twice for fucks sake

[@darkfulxeonplays5418]

I would rather be dead then live in it be isolated in one it's like a prison in my opinion

[@brainphelps1994]

What a weird kooky time the fifties were.

[@driftix]

Brain Phelps it's kooky when people think of ways to save lives?

[@irixperson]

Absolutely right; this is only an 'early form' of the modern-day respirator, and if it weren't for the innovation, we'd be severely lacking in the aspect of medical progression.

[@ibrianuniverse839]

I was a teen and young adult in the 50s it was weigh better than today that’s for sure

[@PistenDeer]

​​​​@@ibrianuniverse839 no you weren't, you're probably a teen _now_

[@JillianAarsvold]

Very interesting.

[@Ghostluvses]

My grandmother didn't catch polio thankfully, she was terrified that my great grandmother would get polio so she kept her in most of the time, It was a scary time back in the 1940-1960s. My grandmother is 82 years old and remembers this all happening.

[@Monke-vd9uw]

Lucky my grandpa didn't get it in 1961 that was when he was 11

[@johnwedzicha]

This simple tech may be the answer to administer to corvid-19 patients if we can't get a handle on ventilator production. As an engineer I'm looking for a Doctor to collaborate with to develop a "Rubber Lung" which would be less restrictive and portable for patients that may not have access because of costs and availability of ventilators. 3-19-20

[@mycahhazel6773]

Hi Vernon, do you know where I can find an original copy of this special? I work for a podcast and am looking to use this for an episode. Thanks!

[@tiggyt2261]

What’s the podcast?

[@brianribbans3111]

Wow. This was a long time ago.

[@thomguy123]

Vernon, I am making a student documentary about the dangers of anti-vaccination and would like to use this footage. I will not be making any money off of this project. Is this possible? -Thomas Fleming

[@auaustin1034]

My grandma was born in the 1940s and her friend has polio in high school. She has to wear braces for her legs. My grandma has never seen her friend again.. my grandma told me that she doesn't know if her friend has an iron lung. She was breathing good but she doesn't move her legs though.... but my grandma doesn't have polio since the vaccine helped. When I was around 12 years old. The Pandemic came while I'm in school and we have to wear a mask for a long time. I've been wearing a mask for like 3 or 2 years. But when the vaccine came. It made me happy that things are going back to normal. I'm still wearing a mask but it always protect us from getting sick. That's all.

[@大法师-t4i]

辛苦你们了

[@tharinduwijesinghe8255]

I saw one of them at hotel translaveniya 3

[@peterfslife]

Ya know, theytalk about Iron lungs, the Rocking beds, and the tilt table, but hardly anybody mentions the Hubbard Tank which is another water based recovery rehabilitation device.

[@maryrawle7448]

Isn't that for burn debridement?

[@peterfslife]

@@maryrawle7448 You are right about that. The Hubbard tank, a stainless steel tank with a turbine grade whirlpool, which was invented in the year of 1928 by the American engineer Carl P. Hubbard, was used for Burn debridement. A patient who was severely burned would be lowered via a lifting mechanism into the Hubbard Tank, and their burns would be debrided. However, this tank was used in the polio Epidemic as well, to rehabilitate patients that were recovering from Polio. In the case of the patient who was now able to get out of their Iron Lung, they would be placed into the tank, and Physical Therapy would be used to help them move, and hopefully to be able to walk. The Hubbard tank was used quite frequently in Polio patients, as well as many other conditions!

[@maryrawle7448]

@@peterfslife Hey! Thanks for the info. I was surfing yesterday and I saw one in an old polio clip. Aren't those old flicks a killer? The announcer with that ever-cheerful voice, and also political incorrectness...such as the one where he say "Women belong in the kitchen!" But the drift is of such overt compassion, as in "let's get those gals out of their iron lungs, and back in the kitchen where they belong."

[@peterfslife]

@@maryrawle7448 I agree with you! I'm glad I could help you with the info on the Hubbard Tank. I have seen one in actual life, an put my hand inside of the tank to feel the whirlpool. It's a large turbine that stands up, coming out of the water, and the Turbine can be removed from the water. It's kind of portable. Most of the time the turbine is not removed from the water, and is just left there, so that it can be used when the Hubbard tank is being used.. Hubbard tanks are not used as much as they use to be used. Now days let's say a patient was severely burned. They would be wheeled underneath a shower set up with a few hoses, and this would be accomplished using a shower trolley, and the burns would be scrubbed in the usual way, minus the submersion in the Hubbard Tank. The reason they no longer debride a patient who is severely burned in the Hubbard Tank, is because it has been studied, and researchers have found that the submersion of a severe burn patient into the water creates a bacterial soup. In other words, infection is very likely with the use of submersion based debridement rocedures.

[@maryrawle7448]

@@peterfslife Thanks so much, Peter! I have been away from work in the medical field for 20 years now (where does the time go?), and I love to hear about new medical developments. When I graduated from high school in 1976, I entered a college program for respiratory therapy (which I did not complete). I was 17 years old, and I never gave a thought about the fact that positive pressure respirators were actually quite new. Ha! Years later I ended up working in hospital laboratory. I know I would have hated being a respiratory therapist. You mentioned having a trache AND playing the piano! I assume someone else does the singing...

[@MidnightToker24]

Best quote from this vid.... 5:00

[@lindamorganminecraft1912]

I fell so bad for people that had got it because they couldn’t do anything like a child would be able to do everything they want

[@railgap]

He might have found it easier to talk if they'd set it up for longer, slower cycles rather than "panting mode" - maybe the nurses wanted him to suffer a bit so he could report how unpleasant it is.

[@sonofhack3916]

2020 check?

[@Scientudio]

How can you live inside for months ? I mean you cannot move your body for months ?

[@isabelacabral5898]

Patients use it only to sleep or a bitt more time. They have a break every day as you wanted to know. It is like a helping to breath better, to feel better for a while. Some people needed to use it for few weeks, others for months, others forever but none 24 hours per day.

[@411E109]

@@isabelacabral5898 Isabela - Unfortunately, this is not true. Most of us who needed the breathing support of an iron lung were in it 24 hours a day. At least for a while. I was in one 24 hours a day for about three months, then I slowly regained some breathing tolerance: ten minutes, three times a day, then fifteen minutes, then twenty, etc. When I could breathe about one hour on my own I graduated from the tank respirator to a chest respirator. This type of respirator covers just a person’s torso. It looked a little like a turtle’s shell. It allowed me to lie on a bed, escaping the confines of the tank.

[@akrocuba]

Horrible. How did they go to the bathroom? Unreal.

[@411E109]

***** Just like any person who is confined to bed. You use a bedpan to poop and, if you are a male, you use a urinal to urinate.

[@akrocuba]

Richard Daggett Oh man! What a horrible disease.

[@shunyataberlin]

Pampers

[@411E109]

They went to the bathroom just as most people do who are unable to get out of bed. They call for a nurse, and tell the nurse they need to use a urinal or bedpan. There are "portholes" along both sides of the iron lung that can be opened to provide access to the patient.

[@fionabray8501]

Richard Daggett i thought the nurse would pull you out, but you couldn’t breathe, so they set a timer and cleaned you up

[@pwthcim]

The executive office and most of the Senate and Congress should be put into such devices.

[@alialrikabi5546]

Why can't we build those for coronavirus patients???

[@sierra4915]

😒

[@gh6st_502]

I don't have polio- Also I'm fine-

[@Engycation]

Very Nice Video Go A Head

[@NoOneHere2Day]

At least they could stare at a tablet.

[@pmcgah]

Wrote 156 episodes of Branded, the bulk of the series. He is not exactly a lightweight.

[@ACCOMPLISHEDSHEIS]

I feel for those who depends on these. It really prompt me to live healthier because no way one should live like this. I wonder if carrying a oxygen tanks is just as effective as pollo machine.

[@darlold]

“9 million dollars” Excuse me?

[@Og-Judy]

1950s. Probably closer to $90 Billion for the same medical treatment at today's prices! In 1955, minimum wage was $1.00 n hour!p

[@dominikz.1376]

This was hilarious; like, how did you find yourself inside a 90 year old iron lung respirator? Ya big goober!

[@YuyuYildiz]

Desde entonces no faltaba el.mr.beast haciendo cosas raras.

[@marypreston9791]

I think death of the body is kinder then living and never being let out and or going outside in these 24 7 on a permanent basics or for the rest of ur life. A mercy killing or a dnr is more kind.

[@tubeblack35]

I'd rather be dead.

[@gogo-fs4wl]

Of course! Let the healthy man explain to us how it feels to be inside an iron lung. 😒

[@chrisnewmen656]

weird.

[@Cookie83409]

i hate this

[@Cheersthewinners]

I can’t stand this machine for some reason. Maybe because I’m used to modern technology, but I would rather die