Life in the "tank": a woman spent almost 60 years in a ventilator
American Diana Odell was barely three years old when she got into trouble. Viral polio affected the lungs, and the girl could no longer breathe on her own. It was still a long way to modern artificial ventilation devices, and the pinnacle of medical progress in the 50s were frightening devices that were popularly called "tanks".
Diana spent almost 60 years in such a "tank". At the same time, it was not an existence at all, but a bright, eventful life. She was interrupted by a ridiculous tragedy…
Until the age of 20, Diana still had the opportunity to spend two or three hours a day outside the device. She was released from prison for a short time, and she attended school lessons and walked with friends. But due to the fact that the girl had to lie motionless on her back for hours, the muscles eventually finally lost activity, and even had to forget about temporary freedom.
Young Diana on one of the rare walks.
After graduating from school, Diana passed the university entrance exams in absentia. Her father, who worked as an engineer, managed to organize audio broadcasts of lectures for her. She dictated written works to her parents.
The parents all hoped that the development of technology would allow Diana to get out of the "tank", but when a compact portable device finally appeared, the poor thing could not switch to it: her spine was too badly deformed.
Diana, however, was not discouraged. In 1991, she began writing a book, or rather, her father wrote it down from her words. It took ten years to complete the children's story "Less Light", which tells how important it is not to lose faith in yourself and appreciate your loved ones.
After the book was published, Diana became a local celebrity. Even US Vice President Albert Gore visited her. The patient did not complain a bit about fate and assured that her life was full of bright moments.
Diana died in 2008 at the age of 58 due to a tragic accident: electricity was lost in the house. Previously, parents twice managed to save their daughter by manually pumping a respirator before turning on the device, but this time the attempts were in vain.