Man with iron lungs dies at age 78 (6 photos)

Paul Alexander, known as the "Iron Lung Man" and "Polio Paul", died at the age of 78 on March 12. He lived for more than 70 years on a ventilator.





Paul was born on January 30, 1946 in Dallas, Texas, USA. He was diagnosed with polio in 1952, when he was just six years old. Having survived a serious illness, he became a prisoner of the “Iron Lungs” - a device for helping people with respiratory paralysis.



According to an article published by The Guardian in 2020, Paul was left almost completely paralyzed from the neck down and required a ventilator.

Despite all the hardships, Alexander graduated from school, university, and became a lawyer and writer.





"Paul was a true role model who will be remembered," Christopher Ulmer wrote on a GoFundMe page he set up to help cover his friend's medical expenses. Before Paul's death, more than $143,000 had been raised.

"I'm so grateful to everyone who donated for my brother. It allowed him to live out his final years stress-free. The funds will go toward funeral expenses during this difficult time. It's incredible to read the comments and know that Paul has inspired so many people. I'm so grateful." - Philip Alexander addressed the people.



Paul was recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the longest surviving iron lung patient.

At 21, Alexander became the first person to graduate from a Dallas high school without ever attending classes in person. Having overcome the rector's athletics, he entered Southern Methodist University in Dallas, and then the law school of the prestigious University of Texas at Austin.



For decades, Paul worked as an attorney in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, representing clients in court while wearing a three-piece suit and a modified wheelchair.

Having learned special breathing, he could leave the apparatus for several hours.

"I knew that if I wanted to achieve anything in life, it had to be through mental work. I wasn't going to be a basketball player," Paul told The Guardian in 2020.



Of the three strains of wild poliovirus, type 2 was eradicated in 1999 and type 3 in 2020, according to the World Health Organization.

As of 2022, wild poliovirus type 1 persists in two countries: Pakistan and Afghanistan.