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De & Doreen Wiltse

Updated Jun 16, 2025
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De & Doreen Wiltse
The love of a husband. Doreen in iron lung from Polio
People in photo include: Doreen Marie (Bergan) Wiltse
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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This photo is described as "the love of a husband." The wife is in an iron lung (adorned with a rose) due to polio - how awful was polio and how we treated it?!
Photo of Michael Honeybear Cotton Michael Honeybear Cotton
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06/23/2014
Sad
Photo of Wendy Potter Wendy Potter
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06/23/2014
That is sad and sweet at the same time.
Photo of Ted Stalcup Ted Stalcup
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06/23/2014
That was the only way to treat paralysis of the diaphragm at the time....people spent years in those
Photo of Dawn Whitesel Dawn Whitesel
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06/23/2014
My grandfather had Polio as a child...As a result he walk with canes the rest of his life..
Photo of Janis Asbury Orrico Janis Asbury Orrico
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06/23/2014
Very scary. So important to vaccinate
Photo of Ryan And Carmen Holland Ryan And Carmen Holland
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06/23/2014
So sad, yet thank the Lord she married an amazing man who stood by her
Photo of Sandra Lakey-Haines Sandra Lakey-Haines
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06/23/2014
I had an Aunt with polio,walked with crutches & was a wonderful singer!
Photo of Bonny Bridgewaters Bonny Bridgewaters
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06/23/2014
i agree with wendy sadly sweet
Photo of Andrea Hakim Pianga Andrea Hakim Pianga
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06/23/2014
Today we have vaccinations so no one will get Polio, except for the ppl who think vaccinations cause Autism. I have 3 non verbal Autistic Grandchildren, nothing in the world to do with Autism. My son held off every child from getting vaccinated until they started school, they still grew to Autistic. PLEASE vaccinate.
Photo of Joy Crockett Joy Crockett
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06/23/2014
When were they diagnosed Autistic?
Photo of Edward Thibodeau Edward Thibodeau
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06/23/2014
There are MILLIONS of nitwits who think they know better. The same arrogant know-it-alls who are ruining this country. Poetic justice will be when their own children contract the very diseases that were supposed to have been wiped out. I hope it happens.
Photo of Linda Perkins-Hritz Linda Perkins-Hritz
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06/23/2014
Please vaccinate your children. I am old enough to remember the sadness of families and the fright that I would contact polio. One of my children asked me, when they were 10, "what is polio"? I was so happy to realize that they did not have to grow up with the fear.
Photo of Patty Strickland Jacobson Patty Strickland Jacobson
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06/23/2014
NICU RN here...you are so right :)
Photo of Mary Covey Mary Covey
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06/23/2014
I remember those days!! frightening! i knew one teenager from LG who was in an iron lung. She was a classmate of my little brother Louie. Sad times.
Photo of Ann Glover Ann Glover
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02/02/2015
Yes! Yes! Please vaccinate!!
Photo of Jamie Conde Jamie Conde
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06/23/2014
The recent measles out breaks was traced to a single unvaccinated child. #thanks antivaxers
Photo of Jessica Arellano Jessica Arellano
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06/23/2014
I can't imagine that! :( my grandmother had polio when she was about ten years old... she survived (obviously lol) but had to use crutches and wheelchair for life. She was one of the strongest women I've ever known and she passed away from post polio syndrome 20 years after they expected her to pass. Polio is an awful awful thing. I miss my grandma....
Joni Mitchell has post-polio syndrome and I believe started a foundation to help people?
Photo of Teresa Collins Smith Teresa Collins Smith
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06/23/2014
But, but, but vaccines are poison... SMH! Get your children vaccinated or be considered a Public Health Hazard and keep your unvaccinated little heathens at home.
Photo of Alexsandra Ribeiro Alexsandra Ribeiro
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06/23/2014
Teresa De Jesus Afonso, Carine Würch, Nicole Trucolo Martinelli, Gisele Milena Santos
Photo of Jeanette Trumeau Jeanette Trumeau
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06/23/2014
My best friend contracted polio=you cannot imagine the fear during that time. No one of us met except at school. No drinking fountains or public pools or movie theaters. It was quite awful:((
Photo of Bonnie Moore Bonnie Moore
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06/23/2014
I remember the polio outbreaks when I was young.
Photo of Barb McFaul Barb McFaul
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06/23/2014
My father-in-law was in a iron lung
Photo of Judy Bidwell Judy Bidwell
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06/23/2014
I remember the pictures and news clips about the iron lungs. Polio was a dreaded disease when I was a child. Thank goodness for Jonas Salk and the vaccine he created. And for the subsequent oral vaccine by Dr. Sabin. I remember lining up at school to get the first vaccination and the subsequent boosters.
I remember the Salk vaccine - painful! (Altho better than polio.) Loved it when we got the oral vaccine!
Photo of Judy Bidwell Judy Bidwell
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06/23/2014
The Salk shots were painful, Kathy. My upper arm was always red and swollen for a few days after each vaccination.
Our doc gave it to us in the butt - ow!!
Photo of Ann Orr Markworth Ann Orr Markworth
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06/23/2014
very mild sacrifice, the pain in your arm.
Photo of Eileen Burns Eileen Burns
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06/23/2014
My class got the oral vaccine in a small glass of OJ.
Photo of Darcy Louise Darcy Louise
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06/23/2014
Love so true
Photo of Joyce Day Joyce Day
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06/23/2014
Polio was horrible . . . and SAD . .
Photo of Darcy Louise Darcy Louise
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06/23/2014
Yes Jonas Salk and Dr.Sabin amazing hero's...indeed.
Photo of Lynne Kennedy Powell Lynne Kennedy Powell
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06/23/2014
I remember.
Photo of Megan Jean Bouchard Megan Jean Bouchard
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06/23/2014
I have polio... Not fun and got a second case of it from the sugar cubes 1964
Photo of Karen Lichty Karen Lichty
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06/23/2014
Such a scary disease before the advent of vaccinations. My mother was so afraid I would get polio. She was always checking my neck...
Photo of Ruby Nell Nicholson Ruby Nell Nicholson
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06/23/2014
There was a Gentle girl who lived in Rockwood who lived in an iron lung. On warm days she was rolled out on their front porch. If you drove by the house, you could see her. It was amazing.
Photo of Janice Notman Janice Notman
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06/23/2014
I cannot even begin to imagine. Vaccinations will prevent.
Photo of Carol Holmes Keene Carol Holmes Keene
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06/23/2014
Prevent what!
Photo of Kyle Samperton Kyle Samperton
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06/23/2014
stroke victims spouses understand
Photo of Dutch Oven Queen Dutch Oven Queen
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06/23/2014
:(
Photo of Rita Beatty Rita Beatty
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06/23/2014
I was in one!A lot! As a child!
Photo of Michelle Diane Keyawa Michelle Diane Keyawa
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06/23/2014
Glad your doing better Rita.
Photo of Rita Beatty Rita Beatty
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06/23/2014
Thank you so much.Michelle Diane Keyawa!
Photo of Judy Williams Judy Williams
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06/23/2014
I remember these horrible things...ugh
Photo of Rita Beatty Rita Beatty
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06/23/2014
There was no vaccination when we all had Polio in 40s` and early 50s`
Photo of Jessica Arellano Jessica Arellano
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06/23/2014
Post polio syndrome was devastating to watch progress on someone you love more than the world. I believe in vaccinations 100 percent because I don't like to think she and so many others suffered just so we can throw away the very thing that keeps us safe. The anti vacation movement disgusts me.
Photo of Molly Briar Bayne Cundall Molly Briar Bayne Cundall
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06/23/2014
Photo of Roberta Dolezal Cook Roberta Dolezal Cook
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06/23/2014
I remember them.
Photo of Jean Brady Jean Brady
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06/23/2014
out and out devotion, hope God blessed her with His healing power...
Photo of Pam Milligan Vaughan Pam Milligan Vaughan
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06/23/2014
My brother-in-law lived in a clean home and still contracted it. If kids were at school and played with other kids who were infectious, one could contract it there, too.
Photo of Patrick Harlow Patrick Harlow
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06/23/2014
Oh yes, such an "awful way of treating her"! Wtf sort of remark was that?? What else were thy supposed to do for her???
Photo of Terry Pratt Terry Pratt
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06/23/2014
Let's not allow the anti-vaxxers to bring back those dark days.
Photo of Patrick Harlow Patrick Harlow
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06/23/2014
Stop taking away freedoms not everyone wants their bodies pumped full of god knows what
Photo of Ann Elizabeth Ann Elizabeth
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06/23/2014
Better than getting their bodies pumped full of stuff after they've contracted disease!
Photo of Ann Orr Markworth Ann Orr Markworth
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06/23/2014
you have the same name as me! Never met anyone with the same name!
Photo of John Harmicar John Harmicar
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06/23/2014
We know exactly what is in vaccines. Stop being a paranoid fool
Photo of Pam Milligan Vaughan Pam Milligan Vaughan
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06/23/2014
My brother-in-law contracted it in England in the 50's. He had been set to be a professional cricket player. Hospitalized for 1 year. Post polio syndrome hit him about 15 years ago. He doesn't have to sleep in an iron lung- they stopped manufacturing these a couple of years ago- but he does sleep with a breathing machine that forces air into his lungs at night.
Photo of Susan Crouse Susan Crouse
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06/23/2014
Some huge facts and realities that the anti vaccine people choose to ignore to the detriment of all of us.
Photo of Judy Kroh Judy Kroh
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06/23/2014
Those did safe many, many lives.
Photo of Ann Elizabeth Ann Elizabeth
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06/23/2014
What a foolish & condescending way to describe the method of transmission of Polio. Polio struck all portions of the population in the USA during it's heyday. It was not about "poor living conditions". The transmission is not only fecal-oral contact but through mucosa. Any of that can be passed through the water system. Yes, treat the water, but that doesn't mean this removed the threat of polio ... only the vaccine removed the threat!
Photo of Mary Wimbs Mary Wimbs
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06/23/2014
How well I remember.
Photo of Diane Folks Diane Folks
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06/23/2014
True devotion
Photo of Melissa Marie Wells Melissa Marie Wells
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06/23/2014
Sad
Photo of Alberto Duarte Prieto Alberto Duarte Prieto
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06/23/2014
I remember those days.
Photo of Kathy Beckley Eckinger Kathy Beckley Eckinger
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06/23/2014
Did they ever get out ?
Photo of Nancy Burkert Koivisto Nancy Burkert Koivisto
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06/23/2014
World Health has located the virus in Rio de Janiero water Imminuze and save lives. Taliban is killing workers doing this in Pakistan how abysmally ignorant they are.
Photo of Sandra Brokus Sandra Brokus
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06/23/2014
In the 50's a girl was in one in our nighboehood. We were first in line when vax. Came out. Went to high school to get it on sugar cube.
Photo of Ann Orr Markworth Ann Orr Markworth
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06/23/2014
boy mark dennis I am glad you aren't part of my family.
Photo of Martha Jo Bennett Martha Jo Bennett
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06/23/2014
When I was a child there was always te fear of a child having polio. The disease was responsible for the death of so many people. Thank God there are vaccines to prevent it. Imagine your child living its life in an iron lung so it could breathe. VACCINATE.
Those were real lifesavers, but such a brutal way to have to live! My older sister had polio, but thankfully, a very mild case & did not require this treatment. I did care for a patient in an iron lung in the early 70's. She was 16 yrs old (don't remember the exact diagnosis), she needed to be put on a ventilator but adamantly refused when she learned she wouldn't be able to talk. Someone at the hospital remember that they had an iron lung in an old storage area & brought it up to ICU. She was in it for several months, probably took longer to recover than if she's been on a ventilator, but she never regretted refusing the ventilator. Her biggest concern was having someone shave her legs periodically!
Photo of Ruth Barner Ruth Barner
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06/23/2014
Had a wonderful friend that spent a year in one of those but she went on to do wonderful things for the LORD before he called her home
Photo of Mary Harris Mary Harris
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06/23/2014
How well I REMEMBER ! How well ! I am a survivor ! I was sooooo blessed !
Photo of Carol Holmes Keene Carol Holmes Keene
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06/23/2014
Says a lot for vaccination!
Photo of Joyce Beebe Joyce Beebe
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06/23/2014
All those people who are refusing to immunize their children should see this.
Photo of Connie C Morgan Connie C Morgan
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06/23/2014
Yes. Polio is an AWFUL. destructive disease and now, some of these idiotic people who don't want their children to have vaccinations it, and other preventable childhood diseases are coming back! I just don't understand people, I guess!
Photo of Patricia Holm Patricia Holm
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06/23/2014
I remember those scary days and what a big thing it was to have the vacine available.
Photo of Linda Beron Linda Beron
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06/23/2014
real Love!!
Photo of Carol Holmes Keene Carol Holmes Keene
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06/23/2014
Mark - Is that how President Roosevelt got polio??! Did you live through that time? - I did! I knew kids from scrupulously clean homes who got polio. We even had running water, soap & flush toilets "back then". What a ridiculous & stupid thing to say!
If all you anti-vax people had to live had to live through the threat of all the diseases we lived (and died) through as children you'd be begging "someone" to DO "something"!!
Photo of Carol Holmes Keene Carol Holmes Keene
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06/23/2014
There is no apostrophe in facts and that's a fact!
Photo of Carol Holmes Keene Carol Holmes Keene
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06/23/2014
Dr. Jonas Salk is a true hero!
Photo of Aniko Eva Kokeny Nagy Aniko Eva Kokeny Nagy
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06/23/2014
So right!!!
Photo of Anita Brazil Anita Brazil
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06/23/2014
Polio was an epidemic when I was born. Through advancement in medicine. It is no longer a threat.
Photo of Lynn Foster- Turner Lynn Foster- Turner
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06/23/2014
My father had polio in this epidemic-fortunately an Iron lung was not necessary!
Photo of Victoria Oberzan Victoria Oberzan
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06/23/2014
Thank God Dr. Jonas Salk refused to patent his vaccine so many suppliers made it available to all. Today, polio is virtually gone.
Photo of Anna Neto Patrone Anna Neto Patrone
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06/23/2014
Massimo Max Zanier dura ma romantica..
Photo of Amanda Bilotto Amanda Bilotto
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06/23/2014
Wow! How technology and medicine progressed so quickly since then. I give anyone who were in chronic pain (or any ailment) and didn't have meds or any sort of proper treatment so much credit!
Photo of Janice Lynn Underwood Janice Lynn Underwood
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06/23/2014
Two types of Polio. Balbur and Paralytic. Those who had Balbur had to be in the Iron lung. Not many made it through. I had the Paralytic at age 3.
Photo of David Trimboli David Trimboli
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06/23/2014
There's somebody like this OP in every thread with a picture of an iron lung (don't waste time arguing).
Photo of Annaka Logan Annaka Logan
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06/23/2014
I was just thinking about that iron lung thing.
Photo of Tam Kennedy Tam Kennedy
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06/23/2014
It has been scientifically proven that vaccinations do not cause autism. However, even tho it is far away, polio is not extinct in the world. Please vaccinate. As a polio survivor, I know it is not worth the slightest risk.
Photo of Tam Kennedy Tam Kennedy
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06/23/2014
Mr. Mark Dennis, FDR had polio and I doubt he lived in filth. So did I at age 10 months, and there was never a cleaner person than my mom. In fact, the doctor wondered if she kept me too clean and because of it I had no resistance. It left me pretty well paralyzed from the waist down. Who knows? They do not know how polio is spread. Only 2 in our town got it ,and the families did not have any friends in common.
Photo of Lori Horne Lori Horne
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06/23/2014
I remember a very poor family used to bring their son to the old Tishomingo County Hospital (now Iuka Hospital), in an iron lung in the back of a pickup. They wouldn't call an ambulance. I was a new nurse back then. Sad part was that the patient was the one who made the important family decisions, but a tremendous positive spirit!
Photo of Barbara Emmert Barbara Emmert
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06/23/2014
In spite of much sadness, people continue to amaze me with their tenderness and compassion and love.
Photo of Gillian Middleton Gillian Middleton
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06/23/2014
One for the anti-vaccers.
Photo of Gillian Middleton Gillian Middleton
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06/23/2014
Well, a lot of the human race didn't 'make it' without vaccines, just as a lot didn't make it before penicillin and anti-biotics. Duh.
Photo of Phyllis Venable Phyllis Venable
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06/23/2014
I had a girl friend in elementary school who had polio. She had difficulty walking but she did not have to be in an iron lung.
Photo of Julie Hartley Julie Hartley
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06/23/2014
If this isn't true Love of a Husband, what is?
Photo of Judy Foreman Lee Judy Foreman Lee
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06/23/2014
My dad, Conrad Hanson was in an iron lung when he had polio about 1950. (Sandie Cloud, James K Hanson and Brian Hanson)
Photo of Donnie Bowerman Donnie Bowerman
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06/23/2014
How I remember those...they scared the BeJezzuz out of me.
Photo of Melanie Silver Melanie Silver
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06/23/2014
now thanks to anti vaccers its coming back along with other diseases
Photo of Rickey Buck Rickey Buck
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06/23/2014
Patrick, your Uncle Gayle had polio right after he graduated from high school. That was about 1955. A man in our church died from polio at the same time. Scary times!
Photo of Beverley Fisher Beverley Fisher
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06/23/2014
Thank goodness you don't hear about people getting Polio and having to be put in a iron lung.
Photo of Debbie Haymaker Debbie Haymaker
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06/23/2014
maybe you should show this to new parents who do not want to vaccinate their children
Photo of Felicity Wilson Felicity Wilson
via Facebook
06/23/2014
I remember the touching story of Melbourne woman, June Middleton. She spent 60 years in an iron lung.
She had been engaged when she contracted this vile disease. Insisted on breaking it off. Her fiancée stayed in contact and his family visited often. In later years, June loved her support dog Angel. She was also able to go, with incredible organisation, to a very rare football match, iron lung, ambulance and footy colours!
Photo of Patricia Sanjurjo Razzell Patricia Sanjurjo Razzell
via Facebook
06/23/2014
I remember these as well. I agree that all of you who don't vaccinate your kids put them and others at risk. Polio is again on the rise in places like India, Africa, and parts of Eastern Europe.
Photo of Jinny Diane Dubs Milford Jinny Diane Dubs Milford
via Facebook
06/23/2014
My sister died of polio. She was never put into an iron lung; perhaps because it was very hard to diagnose back then? Nance, do you know anything else about this?
Photo of Dawna McClendon Dawna McClendon
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06/23/2014
My mom got Polio afew months after my younger sister was born back in 1960...she had terrible stories to tell, she never said how long she had to stay in "the lung" but they couldn't fit it thru the door of the room so she had to stay in the hallway.
Photo of Loraina Lee Loraina Lee
via Facebook
06/23/2014
So sad. I remember when I was a very young Lil girl and moma took me to see me cousin.the room was lined with these iron lungs. Broke my heart. I'm suprised I was allowed to go there..I remember receiving polio vac.in a sugar cube.
Photo of Anneke Dubash Anneke Dubash
via Facebook
06/23/2014
That was how I got it, too. Pink liquid, if I am remembering correctly.
Photo of Janet Fritch Janet Fritch
via Facebook
06/23/2014
I went through this and lucked out, didn't get it. Many people did before they found the polio vaccine.
Photo of Deborah Young Deborah Young
via Facebook
06/23/2014
My dad had polio. He never talked about it but I imagine it was pretty awful. He had a deformed leg.
Photo of Pamela Heck Robinson Pamela Heck Robinson
via Facebook
06/23/2014
I knew someone who spent years in one of those "iron lungs". It did save her life, but what a sad, difficult time! Later, a tracheotomy was done, and some other surgeries to her spine and she was able to walk again.
Photo of Robert Gertz Robert Gertz
via Facebook
06/23/2014
Mr. Dennis, polio is a virus. It doesn't "spring up" from these conditions. Vaccination is the best and most powerful tool, though certainly better sanitation helps.
Photo of Wendy O' Connor Wendy O' Connor
via Facebook
06/23/2014
What a wonderfully devoted husband!!
Photo of Margarita Boyer Margarita Boyer
via Facebook
06/23/2014
esto si que era terrible y común, dicen que vuelve a haber polio, ojalá no es terrible
Photo of Judith Koerber Judith Koerber
via Facebook
06/23/2014
Illegals are creating this problem again! We conquered it, the 3rd world illegals are bringing it back!!!
Photo of Diane Grimes Bogner Diane Grimes Bogner
via Facebook
06/23/2014
I remember as a child being taken to visit a girl my age in an iron lung. so sad...
Photo of Donna Bevly Donna Bevly
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06/23/2014
i remember those times well.
Photo of Art Carney Art Carney
via Facebook
06/23/2014
i remember when i was young it was a real fear having to spend you life in one of these
Photo of Jane Ries Jane Ries
via Facebook
06/23/2014
Mark Dennis . . . . you are pathetic. One of my classmate's sister died from polio and I have a cousin that still wears braces on her legs because of it. Go crawl back under your rock, you pathetic loser.
Photo of Patricia Miller Patricia Miller
via Facebook
06/23/2014
We were hit with it in our family in 1956. My youngest brother was hospitalized for about 6 weeks. We were inoculated with polio vaccine and quart teemed from school, I was in about 4-5 grade, I was also in a cast for a broken arm when he came home from Sharon General Hospital.
The doctors said to make him ride a tricycle that was too big for him so he would stretch, no crippling effects for him. His roommate was a different story, his mom kept taking off the ice packs and the heating blankets and sat and cried because Jerry was in pain, Jerry is now 63 and still walks with Canadian Canes. We were given the Salk Vaccine the next summer and we have all survived without any physical defects, we were extremely lucky. Many kids in our school were cripples in their legs and arms. My mom was a nurse and she noticed any changes in our strength and took us to the doctor right away. Ray was the youngest and he was the only one that had to be in the iron lung, 4 of the longest weeks in his three year old life!
Photo of Kenny Bristol Kenny Bristol
via Facebook
06/23/2014
I have a machine for you
Photo of Mona Parisi Mona Parisi
via Facebook
06/23/2014
Sanitizers abound-what plague is next for the clean?
Photo of Mary Gilmore Mary Gilmore
via Facebook
06/23/2014
Me too, it was a bad situation taken care of the only way Doctors knew how. Out of that iron lung she would be able to breathe.
Photo of Connie Gast Connie Gast
via Facebook
06/23/2014
God awful illness!
Photo of Laura Stroud Laura Stroud
via Facebook
06/23/2014
As a child in the 1950's this was a scary time.
Photo of Anneke Dubash Anneke Dubash
via Facebook
06/23/2014
I had friends who had polio, some handicapped as a result. Two died. The initial polio and the disability it caused were bad enough. Many suffer Post-Polio Syndrome which, for someone in their 60s and 70s, already dragging their bodies around on crutches, is an affliction too cruel to contemplate. I was very glad that I was just of the age to benefit from the vaccine.
Photo of Cherie Logan Thurner Cherie Logan Thurner
via Facebook
06/23/2014
And parents today do not want to immunize their children
Photo of Ruth Crook Ruth Crook
via Facebook
06/23/2014
And what was so awful about the way we treated polio? People were put in iron lungs so that they could breathe, which is generally considered to be a good thing. There was no other kind of respirator in those days. And just because she is in an iron lung in this picture doesn't mean she had to spend the rest of her life like that. I only had to be in one for about a month.
Photo of Renay Krup Renay Krup
via Facebook
06/23/2014
that was an amazing time in history
Photo of Janice Kennedy Janice Kennedy
via Facebook
06/23/2014
YES vaccine Do. As my Brother was brought down with it he survived But it returns in old age.....awful disease ...............
Photo of Dawn Zamanis Dawn Zamanis
via Facebook
06/23/2014
depressing- who needs more depressing things to look at? not me!
Photo of Peggy Ellis Peggy Ellis
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06/23/2014
Did people have to spend the rest of their lives in these iron lungs or was it a short term treatment type thing?
Photo of Carol Holmes Keene Carol Holmes Keene
via Facebook
06/23/2014
Photo of Marci Hooper Marci Hooper
via Facebook
06/23/2014
The Mother of a friend gave birth to her 5th child while in an iron lung.
Photo of Dana Sheese Craig Dana Sheese Craig
via Facebook
06/23/2014
I bet most people don't remember polio. I was in a test group of kids who took the vaccine…my parents were so afraid I'd be affected. Please immunize your kids.
Photo of Denita Lynn Arnold Denita Lynn Arnold
via Facebook
06/23/2014
There was a man who contracted polio as a teen and he was bound to a wheelchair. It inspired him to become a doctor who specializes in infectious disease.
Photo of Carla Stark Carla Stark
via Facebook
06/23/2014
Yes, vaccinations can keep people from getting polio. If people quit getting vaccinated, it won't be long before polio will be striking kids in America.
Photo of Bill Wilkinson Bill Wilkinson
via Facebook
06/23/2014
I remember those days that was really tuff times
Photo of Helen Russo Helen Russo
via Facebook
06/23/2014
and thank God for vaccines!
Photo of Eduardo Delandero-tierre Eduardo Delandero-tierre
via Facebook
06/23/2014
Do you remember the film, "Phone Call from a Stranger" (1952), directed by Jean Negulesco, starring Gary Merrill? There was a scene with a woman(Betty Davis) in an iron lung.
Photo of John Harmicar John Harmicar
via Facebook
06/23/2014
Vaccinate now!
Photo of Harry Bell Harry Bell
via Facebook
06/23/2014
remember these?
Photo of Jackie Rhodes Jackie Rhodes
via Facebook
06/23/2014
All kids need to be vaccinated ! this picture is too real ! We saw a lot of this when we were kids!
Photo of Deborah Halacy Deborah Halacy
via Facebook
06/23/2014
It wasn't treated "awful". It was treated the only way we knew how. Modern life is good thanks to vaccinations of all kinds. Thank God every day that we have these miraculous preventatives.
Photo of Steven Crawford Steven Crawford
via Facebook
06/23/2014
Amazed at how soon we have forgotten about polio. I was born in 1956. I still remember how relieved my mom was when I took that sugar cube. I also remember attending church with a man who was a schoolmate of my mom and had contracted polio in high school. I know my parents were not allowed to go to the public swimming pool as children out of fear of polio by their parents. Their parents were not able to send them to live with relatives in the country during summer break as so many parents did. The current crop of anti-vaccinate parents just chap my butt with their ignorance. Whooping cough epidemic in California in 2014 who would have thought it possible.
Photo of Dorothy White Rader Dorothy White Rader
via Facebook
06/23/2014
My natural Mother lived many of the years of her life in one of these. She put me up for adoption at 5 days old because she knew she could not take care of a baby. I did not know who she was until after she had passed away.
Photo of Emma Rubenstein Emma Rubenstein
via Facebook
06/23/2014
My late grandpa had polio and had a brace on his leg. He drove a car and worked and had a stroke. Thank goodness for vaccinations. Yes iron lungs were bad but that was the only cure back in those days.
Photo of Linda L. Yancey Beeler Linda L. Yancey Beeler
via Facebook
06/23/2014
Breathing was a very good thing. I vividly remember being so scare for you and saying prayers for you. I also remember Mama and Grandma crying. They were desperately scared for all three of us girls. Thank you Dr. Salk.
Photo of Jaci Turner Jaci Turner
via Facebook
06/23/2014
Sad no Vaccinate. Thats love
Photo of Mozelle Gwynne Mozelle Gwynne
via Facebook
06/23/2014
I had a friend in Jr. High that had Polio. She left one day healthy and came back about 8 months later very skinny in a wheel chair. So sad.
Photo of Marie Therese Cashman Marie Therese Cashman
via Facebook
06/23/2014
I nursed peole like this at Prince henry Hospital - Sydney. durIng the very early stage of Training. Tragic was not the word. I agree PLEASE VACCINATE YOUR CHILDREN.
Photo of Shells Bells Shells Bells
via Facebook
06/23/2014
Thank heavens for the iron lung...the alternative was suffocation....
And Jesus, you anti vaxxers are ignoramuses!
Photo of Vicki Bonsignore Vicki Bonsignore
via Facebook
06/23/2014
Thank God for the vaccine! My Dad had polio when he was just a teenager. Thanks to the vaccine, he didn't have to worry about his children going through the same hell he did.
Photo of Madeline Ruiz Madeline Ruiz
via Facebook
06/23/2014
WOW !!
Photo of Sharon Rankin Sharon Rankin
via Facebook
06/23/2014
Unfortunately, many were never able to escape the iron lung or its successor that made it possible to leave the iron lung, but not breathe on their own. I remember going to Galveston & passing Texas Crippled Children's Hospital. They would have all these iron lungs out on the balconies so the kids could get some fresh air. Those that didn't need the lung often had "post-polio syndrome" in their later years. The muscles that had taken over for the damaged ones gave out & people then had problems again.
Photo of Janis Di Nicola Janis Di Nicola
via Facebook
06/23/2014
Vaccinate for all diseases.....I remember the scare....measles , chicken pox.and the mumps were bad.....I had them and almost died of whooping cough......
Photo of Jacqueline Smith-o'connor Jacqueline Smith-o'connor
via Facebook
06/23/2014
My mom got polio about 3-4gr. She was crippled on her whole right side. You noticed mostly in her hand &leg & foot. Never deterred my mom. She did all types of work. God Bless her soul.
Photo of Patricia Ann Shelton Patricia Ann Shelton
via Facebook
06/23/2014
"thank the lord she married an amazing man"???? Thank him for giving her polio in the first damn place!
Photo of Chrissy Mardis Chrissy Mardis
via Facebook
06/23/2014
My. Brother. Has. Polio.
Photo of Betty Logue Betty Logue
via Facebook
06/23/2014
True love though
Photo of Patty Strickland Jacobson Patty Strickland Jacobson
via Facebook
06/23/2014
love
Photo of Giancarlo Mangini Giancarlo Mangini
via Facebook
06/23/2014
Photo of Giancarlo Mangini Giancarlo Mangini
via Facebook
06/23/2014
This is what I grew up seeing. Please inoculate yourselves and children! These childhood diseases killed! And polio made a recurrence with many survivors later in life.
And my sister got whopping cough last year, age 70. Bad.
Photo of Angela Adams Angela Adams
via Facebook
06/24/2014
What a living husband. People need to realize that polio can still thrive if one doesn't vaccinate...
Photo of Brian Adams Brian Adams
via Facebook
06/24/2014
My mum had polio when she was younger (before I was born), and I remember her telling us she had to have her lung collapsed as part of the treatment ..she had chest and side pains and went to doctor for treatment and ended up staying in hospital - including iron lung treatment - for just over two years .... .... but luckily she survived, got married, had kids, and lived to 70 odd years ... Memories are forever..
Photo of Petra Keepence Petra Keepence
via Facebook
06/24/2014
My late mother was a survivor of Polio and the treatment by others in the street everyday right up till 2 years ago when she passed from cancer people avoided her because of the physical affects it left behind young girl I would always kiss her arm and tell her she was beautiful. I knew it affected her deeply.
Photo of Katherine Ewatski Katherine Ewatski
via Facebook
06/24/2014
My very first nursing job was at our municipal hospital back home. I worked on the polio floor and we had 4 patients who still slept in iron lungs during the night. They were able to use portable respirators during the day, but were dependent on the lungs during the night. This was 1979, and one of them had developed the disease when he was 3. He had lived his entire life in the hospital. If that does not make people realize vaccinations are important, I don't know what would.
Photo of Gayle Williams Gayle Williams
via Facebook
06/24/2014
This will be coming back if people don't get their act together and vaccinate!
Photo of Suzanne Turner Suzanne Turner
via Facebook
06/24/2014
How very sad...... What qhality of life was there for these victims of such a dreaded disease?
Photo of Doris Kowalczyk Doris Kowalczyk
via Facebook
06/24/2014
I remember my mother taking me and my brother to a school building were they were giving Polio preventive medicine on a sugar cube 65 -70 years ago. I had an uncle and a school mate who had Polio and it left them with a crippled leg. Please make sure your children get their shots or Polio could come back again.
Photo of Lynda Spangler Lynda Spangler
via Facebook
06/24/2014
And post polio syndrome comes back as these people got older.
Photo of Gray Gag Gray Gag
via Facebook
06/24/2014
so true..just make sure your vaccine is not a live one as we have a ton of left over people that have post polio syndrome from that particular vaccine..go the dead virus and get protected...what a lovely story
Photo of Maxine Province Maxine Province
via Facebook
06/24/2014
Polio was every mother's fear. I had a first-cousin, Billy Canoy, who had polio. I remember how tiny he looked in that iron lung.
I went with my mom to visit a lady in an iron lung in the hospital who was the mother of one of my friends. I will never forget that experience. I was horrified that would happen to me! Please do not allow polio to become part of our world again!
Photo of Angel Maness Angel Maness
via Facebook
06/24/2014
It breaks my heart when I hear parents say they don't want to vaccinate their children for anything! I grew up with Carrie Tingley Hospital as a place we went to sing to the "inmates"! My husband was one of those "inmates" for a year, I found this out after dating him! He is a lesson to all who see him doing things he shouldn't be able to do! Thank God for those iron lungs or more would have died not being able to breathe!
Photo of Mary Balthrop Mary Balthrop
via Facebook
06/24/2014
Aw loyalty! Such a wonderful trait!
Photo of Delores C. Sheppard Delores C. Sheppard
via Facebook
06/24/2014
There were kids in my neighborhood who had it. There were huge outbreaks in the year I was born. I was vaccinated when I was 6 or 7.
Photo of Vicki S Winkler Vicki S Winkler
via Facebook
06/24/2014
Many did not even make it to an iron lung. We may well see this again with so many parents opting out of vaccines for their kids. Polio is reocurring in Europe.
Photo of Marsha Sexton Eager Marsha Sexton Eager
via Facebook
06/24/2014
How very this must have been for patient and family. I look at this apparatus and think how expensive & how many had to make a choice.
Photo of Sharon Fryar Height Sharon Fryar Height
via Facebook
06/24/2014
One word to describe this photo is "faithful." Thanks for sharing : )
Photo of Helen A. Johns Linker Helen A. Johns Linker
via Facebook
06/24/2014
Thank God for the vaccine!
Photo of Copia Tangite Copia Tangite
via Facebook
06/24/2014
Faithful...
Photo of Paula Hursh Paula Hursh
via Facebook
06/24/2014
Glad they found the cure
Photo of Lois Spicer Weisberger Lois Spicer Weisberger
via Facebook
06/24/2014
OMG,I Remenber this!!!Its important that parents give there children vaccinations..
Photo of Paula Wurzer Jones Paula Wurzer Jones
via Facebook
06/24/2014
(((Hugs))) (((Hugs)))
Photo of Janice Rogers Janice Rogers
via Facebook
06/28/2014
I am 53 & still remember going to school with children wearing leg braces from polio.It was quite common then & it's not so long ago really. Vaccinate your children !
Photo of Janice Rogers Janice Rogers
via Facebook
06/28/2014
I was rather horrified to hear my daughter in law say they were considering not vaccinating
Photo of MaryLou Curtis MaryLou Curtis
via Facebook
07/03/2014
when I was 8 I got polio, and I heard them talking to my Mom & Dad about this. It scared me so bad. But it never happened. So glad with Gods mercy I was fine, no after affects, except a curvature on my tail bone. God is good.
Photo of Irene Gomez- Gaffney Irene Gomez- Gaffney
via Facebook
07/04/2014
I heard they still have a few left who are in them. We have a lady at church who had polio when she was young and recovered completely. She married, had kids, and then suddenly it came back and she's in a wheel chair and unable to walk. I guess it's not that unusual.
Photo of Leah McDonald Leah McDonald
via Facebook
07/07/2014
When I was in primary school I had a teacher who was born healthy but developed this disease as a teenager, I feel sorry for those who weren't so lucky
Photo of Lauren Elizabeth Taylor Lauren Elizabeth Taylor
via Facebook
07/13/2014
During the polio epidemics, the iron lung saved many thousands of lives
I remember saving pop tabs to help raise money for the Iron Lung machine when I was in Grade school.
and is why schoolchildren were inoculated against polio, and smallpox. Folks who do not 'believe' in vaccines, do you really want to go back to this? Without the Iron Lung these loved ones would have died. Some spent the rest of their lives inside it. Please, Vaccinate!
Photo of Jennifer Hutson Jennifer Hutson
via Facebook
07/16/2014
May be a silly question, but i don't know much about iron lungs...what if her face was itchy? How would she scratch?
She lived into her 80s and they had a wonderful life. I miss her and Grandpa terribly
I had polio in 1950 at age 5. I remember when I left the hospital the nurse carried me into ward with iron lungs all around in a large room. She was showing me how lucky I was because I only had a mild case. I'm almost 69 years old and I can remember that very vividly. I can't imagine a life inside an iron lung.
Photo of Delores Barnett Lee Delores Barnett Lee
via Facebook
07/23/2014
I was in an iron lung when i was born.. So now i know what it looks like!!
This brings back such memories. I'm currently 69 and remember being in one of these as a young child. I just woke up one morning and couldn't move my legs. We've come a long way in medicine today but the vaccines are more important than ever.
It was a terrible disease, I had my shots against it ,when I was a teen.
Photo of Brin Ash Brin Ash
via Facebook
11/01/2014
My mother had polio as a child and her brothers would pull her to school in a little wagon. It was a mile to school one way. In her later adult yrs. she could walk brief periods of time but she would tire easily and had to sit at an angle or her hip bone would hurt.
Photo of Joan Gilmore Stutsman Joan Gilmore Stutsman
via Facebook
02/02/2015
It crippled many people and they continued to have pain and medical issues the rest of their lives.
Photo of Mitzi Silverman Mitzi Silverman
via Facebook
09/07/2015
Every summer was a fearful time because so many cases flared up during those months. The miracle of preventing illness with vaccine can't be denied.
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Doreen Marie (Bergan) Wiltse
Married Emery Delos Wiltse on October 16, 1943 in Los Angeles, CA Was stricken with Polio as a young adult.

Age in photo:
Emery Delos Wiltse
Emery Delos Wiltse of Logandale, Clark County, Nevada United States was born on August 8, 1915 in Wichita, Sedgwick County, KS to Emery Mason Wiltse and Christine Ludwick Wiltse. He had siblings Donald Wiltse, Hazel Wiltse, and Lois Beth Wiltse. He married Doreen Marie (Bergan) Wiltse, and had children Kathleen Jeanette (Wiltse) Lewis Goldsberry and Sue De (Wiltse) Saxon Price. Emery Wiltse died at age 76 years old on January 26, 1992 in Las Vegas, Clark County, NV, and was buried in Logandale.
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