Long after the polio vaccine stemmed the disease that once infected thousands of people, a handful of U.S. polio survivors still rely on decades-old iron lung machines to stay alive-and must overcome increasing obstacles to maintain the devices. For polio survivors who have difficulty breathing on their own—or who can’t breathe at all—an iron lung is a critical survival tool. It’s essentially a large metal tube that encases a person’s body from the neck down and works by creating negative pressure that induces a patient’s lungs to take in oxygen.

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