Unlike many others, Paul Alexander led a unique existence. He was one of the last persons in the world to continue using the respirator, which was first used in 1928, and spent the majority of his life inside an iron lung.
He has led an extraordinarily rich life and has never accepted anything less, despite his unique circumstances.
“No one’s constraints on my life are something I will tolerate. I refuse to do it. I have an amazing life.
Paul ran into his family’s house in a Dallas, Texas, suburb when he was six years old and told his mother he wasn’t feeling well. Paul had been a typical youngster from his birth in 1946, full of life and activity, but now something was obviously amiss.
Paul told him that his mother had said, “Oh my God, not my son.”
He recuperated in bed for the following few days as directed by the doctor, but the youngster was obviously suffering from polio and was not improving. Less than a week after he first became ill, he was unable to swallow, breathe, or hold anything.
When his parents eventually hurried to the hospital, he joined the innumerable other kids who were exhibiting similar symptoms.
Before polio vaccines were developed, the virus disabled almost 15,000 people. Even if a person has no symptoms, they can still transfer the highly dangerous polio virus.
Fatigue, fever, stiffness, muscle soreness, and vomiting are all signs of polio. Polio can also, in rarest instances, result in death and paralysis.
A doctor examined Paul and declared him dead, but another doctor looked at him and gave him a second chance at life.
The second physician operated on Paul, performing an emergency tracheotomy and placing him inside an iron lung.
When he finally awoke three days later, he found himself in a line of kids with iron lungs as well.
I was unaware of what had transpired. I had a lot of vivid dreams, like if I had passed on. I asked myself again and again: Is this death? Is this a coffin? Or have I gone somewhere I don’t want to go?” the Texas native asked Carol Off, host of As It Happens, in 2017.
Because Paul, who also had a tracheotomy, was unable to talk, the entire situation was much more horrifying.
Despite my best efforts, I was unable to move. Not even a finger. To solve it, I tried touching things, but I was never successful. Consequently, it was really odd.
The device, which was created in the late 1920s, was the first to ventilate a person. Originally known as the “Drinker respirator,” the device sucks air into the patient’s lungs by creating a negative pressure in a chamber that is hermetically sealed from the neck down. In the event that overpressure is created, the patient exhales as the air is forced out of their lungs once more.
Paul recuperated from the original infection for eighteen months within the metal canister. He wasn’t alone, either. According to the data, 1952 was a particularly bleak year for Paul, the year he contracted the virus.
In 1952, the virus spread to about 58,000 persons in the United States, mostly children. 3,145 of them tragically perished.
Iron lungs stretch in endless rows as far as the eye can see. He claimed to be “full of children,” according to The Guardian.
Paul’s will was simply strengthened, even when others may have given up their desire to live.
He wanted to disprove the physicians who would tell him things like, “He should not be alive,” or “He’s going to die today,” whenever they went by him.
And he accomplished just that!
Following his hospital discharge in 1954, he soon discovered that his life had changed significantly.
“Back then, people didn’t like me very much,” he stated in a 2021 video interview. “I sensed that they were uneasy around me.”
However, with the assistance of Mrs. Sullivan, a therapist who came to see him twice a week, his life gradually started to get better. It was agreed that if he could “frog-breathe,” which involves expanding your throat and flattening your tongue to trap air in your mouth, for three minutes without the iron lung, his therapist would get him a puppy.
After a year of arduous labor, Paul was able to spend an increasing amount of time outside the iron lung.
Without ever attending classes in person, he became the first person to graduate with honors from a Dallas high school at the age of 21. He subsequently decided to go to college, and after being turned down multiple times, he was finally accepted to Southern Methodist University.
He recollected, “They said I was too crippled and did not have the vaccination.” They took me under two conditions after I tortured them for two years. First, that I receive the polio vaccine; second, that I would be under the care of a fraternity.
He later attended the University of Texas at Austin for law school after graduating from Southern Methodist University. He became a lawyer in the Dallas-Fort Worth region after passing the bar.
Additionally, I was a pretty damn excellent one!
He kept himself occupied by composing a book, which he typed by himself with a pen on a stick, even after working in the courtroom for thirty years.
According to a Gizmodo, Paul is thought to have been among the final occupants of the nearly defunct device. He lived much of his life in a can, confined all day and night to his ancient iron lung.
I brought it with me when I traveled, loading it onto a truck. I’ve attended college with it and shared a residence hall. Everyone was alarmed by that,” he remarked.
The reason Paul’s kind of iron lung hasn’t been produced in fifty years is that ventilators have become considerably more complex and advanced.
New technology was available to the polio survivor, but he preferred his metal chamber.
But seven years ago, the metal lung nearly collapsed, forcing the Dallas lawyer to make a last-ditch YouTube announcement. Luckily, there are still plenty of spare parts available because there were still abandoned devices scattered throughout the nation. Enthusiasts who enjoy working with outdated technologies have also assisted Paul.
The outfit is a good fit! Please join us for World Polio Day this Friday at 11:30 at Maggiano’s Northpark. Paul, our incredible speaker…
The Park Cities Rotary Club posted this on Wednesday, October 22, 2014.
Numerous polio victims have passed away. What became of the iron lung? In barns, I have discovered them. Garages are where I discovered them. I’ve discovered these in thrift stores. A small amount, but sufficient to hunt [for] parts,” he states.
Because he “never gave up,” Paul once claimed, he has been able to have such a wonderful life.
Following World Polio Day, Rotarians are still in high spirits. If a man with an iron lung like Paul Alexander can become a lawyer and practice law, we can put an end to polio right away. Nothing is impossible!
On Sunday, October 26, 2014, the Park Cities Rotary Club posted
“I wanted to achieve the dreams I had and to do the things I was told I couldn’t do,” he stated.
Since 1979, polio has been essentially eradicated in the United States. But occasionally, polio cases linked to vaccines occur, which is still reason for concern.
The cause of death for Paul Alexander
The renowned “Man in the Iron Lung,” Paul Alexander, tragically died in March 2024. Even though he spent the majority of his life within the metal breathing apparatus, his loved ones remember him for his warmth and lively personality more than his illness.
Sincere recollections of their relationship were shared by his brother Philip Alexander, who described Paul as a “warm, welcoming person” whose “big smile” could instantly put people at ease.
“He was just a regular brother to me,” Philip told the BBC. “He was just a regular brother; I never gave it much thought. We fought, played, loved, partied, and went to concerts together.”
Philip also talked about how strong and self-reliant Paul was despite his severe physical limitations. He stated, “He was the master of his domain, helping people to help him,” praising Paul’s ability to keep control of his life in spite of his need for help with everyday duties like eating.
There is no denying that Paul was an inspiration. I hope that everyone who reads this would enjoy his brave and inspiring narrative of crafting his life in spite of all the odds.
His resolve demonstrates that our own boundaries are the only ones that exist. To encourage others, please tell his story to all of your friends and family.
