Text: Rui Zhiyue
Edited by Rui Zhiyue
In a large, dark room, there are one after another iron bucket machines, and if you don't pay close attention, you will think it is a factory workshop.
But there is a person living in these machines, it is a living life, and once you live in it, you will never have a chance to come out, and this treatment is a lifetime.
Some people may ask, why do you put people in cold iron buckets, what do these iron buckets do, and how do people survive in them?
01
Ancient diseases
In 1952, polio ravaged thousands of children and left the country in a dark shadow of the disease, when there was no vaccine, and the polio swept through the United States.
In this war without gunpowder, the iron lung has become a lifesaver for survival, but those unfortunate children can only lie in this cold iron bucket, looking for a glimmer of life.
In the era of iron lung, children faced extreme breathing challenges, muscle paralysis made them only inhale 20% of the normal air per breath, and had to constantly increase their breathing rate, battling breathing like asthma.
When the electricity is unstable, the children in the iron lung are even more trapped in the nightmare of power outage, and can only rely on the nurse to operate manually, struggling between life and death.
It wasn't until 1955 that scientists found the light of day in vaccine research, when Jonas Salk invented the polio vaccine, which provided humanity with a definitive solution.
With the expansion of vaccination, polio has finally become history in the United States, and iron lung has gradually faded out of people's sight in time and become a witness to scientific and technological progress.
And with the efforts of scientists such as Gu Fangzhou, also known as Grandpa Sugar Pill, the mainland has successfully ended the threat of polio and paved the way for future generations to be healthy.
02
Small "room"
Although the era of polio iron lung has passed, there is one person who still lives in an iron bucket, and this stay is 71 years.
On a sunny day, Paul, an energetic boy, suddenly falls into the dark shadows of polio, his former smiling face and innocence are destroyed by the disease, and at the age of six he is destined to be accompanied by a medical device called an "iron bucket" for the rest of his life.
At that time, the whole of the United States was plagued by polio, almost all the hospitals were overcrowded, and in order to save the life of young Paul, the mother had to have her child operated.
This "iron bucket" is not a childhood game companion, but a common name for a negative pressure ventilator, it is not luxurious, it resembles an iron bucket, but for Paul, who suffers from polio, it is the only straw, his head is exposed, and his body is tightly wrapped in rubber film.
The end result was that Tietong became Paul's second body, and Paul survived safely, but he could never live without this machine again in his life, and the area where they moved was only the size of an iron box.
Electricity is the source of life in the "iron bucket", but it is also the source of nightmares, if the electricity is unstable, waiting for the patient is a nightmare, unless the nurse adjusts, the mental state will be better.
Power outages mean the precipice of life and death, Paul once experienced the edge of life in a sudden power outage, and every power outage made him feel the threat of death, making him feel an indescribable tension about the "iron bucket".
With the help of the doctor, Paul learned a "frog breathing method", although painful, but this method allowed him to briefly leave the "iron bucket" and get rid of the bondage, which became the dawn of his survival, despite the hardships of life, Paul still chose to persevere, "I want to live" became the belief in his heart.
The "iron bucket" is not only a prison for the body, but also a shackle for the soul, and Paul watches his former friends go out of the small mountain village to write their own stories, while he can only reminisce about the past in a narrow space, jealousy and despair haunt in his heart.
03
Overcome difficulties
Paul's days in the bucket were filled with endless despair, but he was not alone, and his mother's love was like a ray of sunshine piercing through the darkness, bringing him warmth and hope every day.
His mother was not only his nurse, but also his mentor, and she read Paul interesting books to create a dream world away from pain.
Eager to fit in with the ranks of normal students, Paul knocked on the door of the school, but the voice of rejection echoed in his ears again and again, and eventually, the enlightened behavior of a school became a turning point for Paul, but he asked for someone to take care of him.
This became the starting point for his perseverance, and Paul's entry into school also meant that he had to face loneliness and challenges, but he was not discouraged, and through self-study and the support of his family, he overcame many difficulties.
Despite the school's temptations, he graduated second in class, and this persistent success gave Paul hope for the future.
The desire to pursue his dream of becoming a lawyer burned in Paul's heart, and despite being rejected many times, he did not lose his confidence, and through perseverance and self-study, he became an excellent lawyer, a victory not only for himself, but also for life.
Paul's status as a lawyer has aroused amazement and suspicion from the outside world, but he has not flinched, and in his own law firm, he challenges society's stereotypes of people who are "too disabled".
At the same time, he was not satisfied with being just a lawyer, and began to try his hand at writing, using his mouth to control the barrel of the pen, showing extraordinary perseverance.
Paul is in the iron bucket, in the law firm, and in the process of writing, ushering in every small victory in life.
His persistence and hard work allowed him to leave the bucket with the support of a special wheelchair and do what he wanted, which was not only a personal victory for him, but also a tribute to life.
Paul does not passively accept the arrangement of life, but chooses to take the initiative to meet every challenge, with an iron wire tied to the pen, with the mouth to control the pen, he shows amazing creativity in writing, each of his articles is the crystallization of tenacity, is a struggle against fate, but also the cherishing of life.
Paul's story makes us deeply feel the immortality of life, even in the iron bucket, even if facing many difficulties, his perseverance and hard work ignited the light of hope, with his own creativity to write a miracle of life, behind every small victory, is his indomitable spirit, become the immortal legend of life.
04
Unfortunate luck
Paul's iron bucket life was not all smooth sailing, as the parts of the iron lung machine were aging and the manufacturer was out of production, making repairs difficult, but in 2004, Paul's iron lung manufacturer announced that he would stop the repair service, which made him desperate, and he looked around for parts, but the repair became extremely difficult.
Although some more portable ventilators were invented later, because this positive pressure ventilator is used to forcibly press air into the patient's body, these high pressures will easily cause damage to the patient's lungs, which is not conducive to physical health, so the patients continue to use iron lungs.
In 2015, when the machine had a serious failure, Paul made a video to ask for help, and got the courage of the mechanical master to successfully repair the iron lung, which also became the key to his continued survival.
At this time, he also knew that his current life was snatched back from the hands of death, so he decided to write his life into a book.
In 2018, Paul's book was published, and his positive outlook on life touched many readers, and in the half century of struggling in the iron bucket, Paul used his perseverance and belief to write a miracle of life.
After 2018, Paul's health gradually weakened, but he did not stop fighting, and in 2020, he completed the process of writing his autobiography "Three Minutes for a Dog".
Every word is born with a pen that bites the wire, and through the keyboard to type word by word, Paul's persistence and desire for life are reflected in every word.
Now Paul is 77 years old, 24 hours a day, almost all of the time to stay on the iron lung machine, but the iron lung has no way to repair, the end of the iron lung's life, which means that Paul has also come to the end of his life.
He wrote his life in the iron bucket, and challenged the arrangement of fate with unremitting efforts and persistent beliefs, whether it was in the face of the aging of parts, the dilemma of maintenance, or the suspension of production of machines, he chose to struggle. Luo's life story inspires everyone who pursues hope and has become a legend among the Iron Lung Man.