I've been on a ventilator for 17 years since my nineteenth birthday when I had
pnumonia, it started two days before with a normal chest infection that turned
very quickly during the night making it very difficult to breath so we called the
doctor and the rest as they say is history!
respirator The respirator is a mechanical device used to ventilate the lungs of patients who cannot
readily breathe by themselves.These devices, also known as ventilators and resuscitators, are used
during and immediately after certain kinds of surgery and in other medical emergencies. Persons
with paralysed or very weak respiratory systems may need them permanently. Respirators are
either negative- or positive-pressure. The negative-pressure type acts by alternately creating a partial
vacuum that causes a patient's lungs to expand and draw air in, then destroying the vacuum and letting
the lungs release their used air. One such device, the IRON LUNG, was developed in the 1930s
for completely paralysed persons. Modified forms include the cuirass respirator, which surrounds
only chest and abdomen. The positive-pressure type of respirator acts by forcing air into the lungs
and then letting the air escape. Such devices include the demand, or assist respirator which is
triggered by the user's drawing in of breath.