Un Long read sul Guardian racconta le memorie di una delle ultime persone ancora in vita dopo il trattamento cronico nel “polmone d’acciaio”, il macchinario inventato per far respirare i malati paralizzati dalla poliomielite.

Il dramma di una morte vicina, affrontato con la forza di volontà che ha permesso a Paul di sopravvivere in modo quasi autonomo fino ad oggi.

 … a year and a half after Paul was admitted to Parkland Hospital, his parents rented a portable generator and a truck to bring him and his iron lung home… “It kept popping. I didn’t know if we would make it home or not.” Part of the reason Paul was cleared to leave the hospital was that no one expected him to live much longer.

But Paul didn’t die… His parents slept in the same ground-floor living room with him, always half-awake in case the swish-swish of the machine stopped. It did during power cuts … and his parents had to pump the machine by hand, calling neighbours in to help.

Immagine di apertura via WikiMedia.