Letter to the editor: Memories of polio epidemic prompt ‘No on 1’ vote

I was a student nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston in the 1950s, during the polio epidemic. I volunteered for the inhalation (polio) ward. It was sad to see young adults, helpless in the iron lungs (negative-pressure ventilators or mechanical respirators to help people breathe). The iron lung held the whole body inside, except […]

I was a student nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston in the 1950s, during the polio epidemic.

I volunteered for the inhalation (polio) ward. It was sad to see young adults, helpless in the iron lungs (negative-pressure ventilators or mechanical respirators to help people breathe). The iron lung held the whole body inside, except for the head; it was scary, with just portholes to get to the patient.

Vaccinations do help all of us! Vote “no” on Question 1!

Marcia Deal

Kittery