Paul Alexander, known as the “man in the iron lung” or “Polio Paul”, has died at the age of 78, according to an announcement made on Tuesday (12/3) by the team that took care of his page on the crowdfunding website GoFundMe, which collected donations for the American’s treatment. Paul is believed to have died on Monday (11/3) from complications arising from Covid-19. Last month, he was hospitalized because of the coronavirus, returned home, but had severe difficulty eating food.
“After surviving polio as a child, he lived for more than 70 years inside an iron lung, a feat recognized by Guinness World Records. During this period, Paul went to college, became a lawyer and a published author. His story traveled far and wide, positively influencing people all over the world. Paul was an incredible role model who will continue to be remembered,” said Christopher Ulmer, who created the page, in the latest update.
A message from his brother Philip said:
“I am so grateful to everyone who donated to my brother’s fundraiser. This allowed him to live his last years without stress.”
Paul was paralyzed after being affected by polio in Dallas (Texas, USA), in 1952. The boy survived the worst polio outbreak in US history, with almost 58 thousand cases – mostly children.
He could only move his head, neck and mouth and almost died before doctors placed him in an iron lung, a large piece of equipment that became the American’s “home”. The device consists of a sealed chamber, in which only the patient’s head is exposed. There is a pump that increases and decreases the air pressure inside, allowing the lungs to expand and contract. Thus, the patient breathes, even when the muscles fail.
An internet celebrity, Paul lived inside the metal fan since he was 6 years old. But after defying the odds and spending more than 70 years horizontally inside the “iron lung,” Paul found a way to spend some time outside of his metal contraption.
The man who lives in the ‘iron lung’
He developed an ingenious technique known as “frog breathing,” which allowed him to spend time outdoors. Paul’s physical therapist, known as Mrs. Sullivan, helped him develop the technique, with a plan to help him go without a ventilator for three minutes.
After a year of tirelessly perfecting the technique, Paul managed 180 seconds of breathing unassisted and got a puppy, Ginger, for his efforts.
As soon as he could breathe without the aid of the device for long enough, the American left the safety of his “iron lung” and gathered the strength to walk quickly to the balcony and then to the garden.
He was one of two people still living inside one of these 7-foot-long machines. The other, Martha Lillard, has spent 69 years by her “dear friend”’s side after she also contracted polio as a child. The disease was virtually eradicated in the West, but the 1950s saw devastating outbreaks.
The machine is an airtight capsule that sucks in oxygen using negative pressure, allowing the lungs to expand so the patient can breathe.
“I lost everything: the ability to move, my legs wouldn’t support me and then I couldn’t breathe”, said the American, in a report in the “Daily Star”.
But Paul didn’t let his defective lungs get in the way of his dream of becoming a lawyer. Without being able to take notes in class, he developed a great capacity for memorization. In 1967, he completed high school, without ever attending a class in person. The American graduated in Law from the University of Texas in 1978 and completed his doctorate in 1984. Since then, he has spent decades working in law, building a successful career.
“I do the same thing everyone else does. I wake up, wash my face, brush my teeth, shave, have breakfast. I just need a little more help to do this,” she declared.
In 2020, Paul published his autobiography “Three Minutes for a Dog: My Life in an Iron Lung”. Five years in the making, the book had every word written with a pen attached to a stick in Paul’s mouth.
Furthermore, Paul embraced “modernity”, becoming a hit on TikTok, where he talked about what it was like to live in the “iron lung”. In the first post, which has more than 25 million views, Paul said that, although he has lived on the device for more than 70 years, he went to college, wrote a book and has dreams like anyone else.