But what actually is the iron lung that kept Paul alive ... the machine was a state-of-the-art contraption with a set of bellows powered by a motor attached at one end, pumping air in and out ...

Paul Alexander was six years old when he woke, terrified, to find himself inside a large metal tube, with only his head sticking out. He couldn't move to feel what was trapping him, and when he ...

The lung, which he called his "old iron horse", allowed him to breathe. Bellows sucked air out of the cylinder, forcing his lungs to expand and take in air. When the air was let back in ...