Sad news from Dallas, Texas: Paul Alexander, who suffered from polio as a child and had to spend almost his entire life in an iron lung, has died at the age of 78. He was probably the last person to use this device. The man was infected with the coronavirus before his death.
Alexander is said to have died on March 11. He became famous as ‘Polio Paul’ because, despite his poor health, he never lost his will to live. On his GofundMe fundraising page, his brother Philip thanked him for the financial donations that enabled the extraordinary man to live a stress-free life in his final years: “It’s absolutely incredible to read all the comments and know that so many people love Paul were inspired. “I’m so grateful,” the family member explained.
A few weeks ago it was announced on social media that Alexander had been admitted to hospital after becoming infected with the coronavirus. It is said he was subsequently released home. However, what exactly caused his death was not revealed.
Negative pressure draws air into the body
Alexander achieved international fame after a polio infection left him paralyzed from the neck down and forced to live in his iron lung for decades. His entire body except his head was inside the machine – the alternating negative and positive pressure in the cabin sucks air into the lungs and pushes it out again, taking over the function of the paralyzed respiratory muscles.
Despite his difficult situation, the American did not deter him from studying, working as a lawyer and writing a book. He could paint and write with his mouth – recently he was also active on social media, telling millions of interested people about his daily life in the device that weighed hundreds of kilos.
Alexander developed a desire for exits
Some people had no idea Alexander would follow this path in life when he ended up in an iron lung after emergency surgery as a six-year-old in the 1950s. The viral disease had seriously affected the boy: he was paralyzed from the neck down. Most polio patients placed in the machine were able to leave after they recovered, but Alexander was dependent on the machine for the rest of his life. However, he learned how to leave them at least temporarily. He achieved this using a special breathing technique that is similar to panting breathing.
Poliomyelitis, also known as infantile paralysis or polio, is a viral disease that affected 13,000 children in Austria alone between 1946 and 1961. In this country, about 1,500 people died after infection. It was not until a vaccine was developed in the late 1950s that the disease was largely brought under control.
Source: Krone
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