Waukeshahealthinsurance.com-
–
Paul Alexander, a lawyer and author who spent the past 70 years with an iron lung and defied expectations, died Monday afternoon at age 78, his brother Philip Alexander said.
His death was announced on Tuesday GoFundMe page It was set up to help pay for his housing and health care.
“It's amazing to read all the comments and know that so many people are inspired by Paul. I'm so grateful,” Philip said on the GoFundMe page.
The exact cause of Paul's death is unclear. He was admitted to the hospital three weeks ago with a Covid-19 infection but did not receive any tests this week, Philip said.
“Paul, you will be missed but always remembered. Thank you for sharing your story,” GoFundMe fundraiser Christopher Ulmer said on the page.
Paul contracted polio at the age of 6 in the summer of 1952. It was the height of the polio epidemic; In the United States, more than 21,000 cases of paralytic polio were recorded that year US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Today, polio is considered eliminated in the United States thanks to vaccines developed in the late 1950s, according to the CDC.
The disease left Paul paralyzed from the neck down, unable to breathe on his own. He was placed in an iron lung, a large metal cylinder that changed the pressure of breathing to change the air pressure, according to his biography.
Paul's mother, Doris Alexander, said in her autobiography, “The doctors told us that Paul would not live.” “There were a few times when the power failed and then the lungs were pumped by hand. Our neighbors would run over and help us pump.
Paul spent the next seven decades in an iron lung. In the year In March 2023, he was declared the world's longest surviving iron lung patient. Guinness World Records.
Paul's ambitions were not limited by his circumstances. He learned breathing techniques, which allowed him to leave the iron lung for a few hours. He graduated college, earned a law degree and practiced as a trial attorney for 30 years.
After learning how to breathe on his own for at least three minutes, he self-published his autobiography, “Three Minutes for a Dog: My Life with an Iron Lung” – a feat that took him a year to complete and, according to the book, was rewarded with a dog.
Paul told in 2022 that he is working on a second book. He demonstrated his writing process by tapping keys on a keyboard with a pen attached to a plastic stick held in his mouth.
“I've got big dreams. He said in an interview that he does not accept limitations from anyone. “My life is incredible.
In January, he founded Polio Pole. TikTok accountIn which he describes his life's achievements and answers questions about life in an iron lung, “How do you go to the bathroom?” and “How do you stay positive?” At the time of his death, he had 300,000 followers and over 4.5 million likes.
Paul was also an advocate for the polio vaccine. In his first Tik Tok video, he said, “Millions of children have not been protected against polio. They must be before another outbreak occurs.