Company Pulls Plug On Iron Lung

SAN DIEGO -- Delores Thompson of San Diego has lived with her iron lung for 54 years, since she was stricken with polio at 9 years old.

Sherry Hurst of Lubbock, Texas, has also spent close to half a century in her iron lung. She sleeps in it every night.

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Polio Patients Fight For Lives

The same goes for Mona Randolph in Kansas City, Mo., and Susan Armerecht of Cleveland, both polio survivors.

Marilyn Rogers of Minneapolis lives in her iron lung 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It's the only world she has known since she fell to polio when she was 9 years old. Rogers is now 65.

These are a handful of the estimated 40 polio survivors in the United States who still use iron lungs to stay alive. Each of these polio survivors received the same letter from the company that services their iron lungs.

The letter from Respironics said the company "will no longer be able to procure service parts to support or repair" iron lungs. The letter goes on to recommend these patients contact their physician to determine what equipment would be "appropriate replacement."

The new policy went into effect March 1, 2004, and has set off a quiet panic among these physically fragile men and women.

Many said other respirators don't work as well as the tried and true iron lung.

Rogers said she tried others, but they were unsuccessful.

Thompson said she's too frightened to try anything else.

"I could gradually suffocate to death and I'm not willing to risk that," said Thompson.

"This is a death sentence for these patients," said Dr. Richard Bruno of the International Post Polio Task Force.

Bruno said Respironics' decision to pull the plug on iron lung patients is symptomatic of a bigger problem.

"Nobody is concerned about polio survivors," Bruno said.

Fifty years after researchers rolled out the Salk Vaccine lowercase vaccine for polio, more than 1.6 million survivors are still struggling in silence. Many, who were less seriously impacted during the epidemic of the 1950s and 1960s, are now suffering more painful and debilitating affects of post-polio syndrome, called sequelae.

Bruno has concerns for these patients, as well.

To contact Bruno, visit www.postpolioinfo.com.

Polio survivor and advocate Mary Clare Schlesinger said the iron lung is truly different from other respirators or ventilators. She said it works on a negative pressure system that literally takes over the patient's breathing. Other ventilators work on a positive pressure system that makes it more difficult for polio patients to fill their lungs and keep enough oxygen streaming through their bodies.

Schlesinger said, "Respironics has made this decision (to discontinue service) for their convenience without regard for the possibly life-threatening impact of their actions."

She said Respironics has a moral, if not legal, obligation to continue to service iron lungs.

"To fail to do SO is outrageous and negligent," Schlesinger said.

Schlesinger runs a post-polio support group and can be reached at sandiego_polio.tripod.com or via e-mail at postpolio@cox.net.

Patients Come To Troubleshooter For Help

Current iron-lung patients said they came to the Troubleshooter after their pleas for a "reprieve" fell on deaf ears at Respironics.

The Troubleshooter then took their case straight to Respironics' vice president, Tim Murphy. Murphy said the decision has been made and there is no turning back.

He also claimed there was no division or subcontractor within the umbrella of his $750 million, publicly traded corporation that is capable of making parts or providing ongoing service for the iron lung.

"It is no longer commercially viable for Respironics to continue servicing iron lungs," said Murphy.

He suggested a few options to patients:

Transition to an alternative device, perhaps one made by Respironics.
Continue using the iron lung with the understanding that if the device fails Respironics may not be able to repair it.
Accept donation of the device and pursue other support and repair options.

Since the Troubleshooter began this inquiry, Respironics has sent a further response:

"In an effort to continue to support these patients as long as possible, Respironics will put all returned iron lungs through a comprehensive Quality Assurance check, and providing the device meets standards, it will be held in a rental pool in the event one is needed in an emergency situation by those opting to remain on the iron lung. Returned devices which do not pass the overall QA check will be held as parts resources. The reality, however, is that this may only provide a limited and unpredictable source of replacement product and repair parts and the best long term resolution for patients may be to transition to an alternative therapy."

The Respironics letter to the Troubleshooter goes on to say the company, "has great compassion for our patients facing this decision and the concerns and fears of transitioning to an alternative therapy and away from something that's been a part of their life for decades. We will continue to work with these patients, their physicians and their caregivers to help them transition to an alternative therapy."

Delores Thompson said if Respironics genuinely cares about her fears, the company should make more of an effort to maintain her iron lung.

"We won't be around very long. I don't think it's asking for much," she said. "But I do think it's about money when push comes to shove."

For more on Respironics plan, or to comment, visit www.respironics.com.

The Troubleshooter is creating a plan to help the iron lung patients and working with Rotary chapters in the San Diego area, labor unions and machinists in the hope of finding a creative solution to a very delicate and urgent problem.