Most people are not familiar with Paul Alexander but he is someone who is worth knowing. He is better known as ‘Polio Paul’ because he got polio in 1952 and was left paralyzed at the age of six.
Alexander would live in his iron lung for 70 years ever since he was a young child. Unfortunately, he has passed away at the age of 78.
Paul suffered from a pounding headache when he was playing outside of his home in Dallas, Texas. His mother looked him over and then sent him to bed but before long it got worse. At one point, he could barely move, cough, or swallow.
After going to the doctor, the consensus was that he would not be able to be saved. There was one doctor who had different thoughts and he rushed him to perform an emergency tracheotomy to remove the congestion in his lungs. They thought that he would have a slight chance of living but he would never breathe on his own.
Eventually, Paul was able to recover from polio but he stayed paralyzed from the neck down. He was then sent home and spent his life in an iron lung until he recently passed away.
The information on his crowd-sharing page stated: “Paul Alexander, ‘The Man in the Iron Lung’, passed away yesterday. After surviving polio as a child, he lived over 70 years inside of an iron lung. In this time Paul went to college, became a lawyer, and a published author.
“His story traveled wide and far, positively influencing people around the world.
He admitted that people didn’t care much for him in his youth and they were often uncomfortable. They also asked what he did all day since he was in the machine and he said: “Well, the same thing everybody else does. I woke up, brushed my teeth, washed my face, shaved, and had some breakfast. I just needed a little help.”
Paul also was interested in going to college to become a lawyer. It took some time and he had to plead his case, but they finally let him in. In order to study at the college he would have to get the polio vaccination and stay in a fraternity to be watched carefully.
In the end, his studies paid off when he passed the bar exams and became a lawyer. He also wrote an autobiography using a pen in his mouth.
He spoke about what motivated him to write, saying: “No matter where you’re from or what your past is, or the challenges that you could be facing, you can truly do anything. You’ve just got to set your mind to it and work hard.”
