Paul Alexander, commonly known as The Man in the Iron Lung, has passed away after living in an iron lung for 71 years.
Born in 1952 in Dallas, Paul contracted polio at the age of six, something that left him paralyzed from the neck down. Doctors at the time tried to do an operation on him, all in vain. They later told him that he could no longer breathe on his own, advising him to live in an iron lung (a metallic cylinder) if he was to survive.
According to his brother, Philip Alexander, who has taken care of him since, Paul went to college, became a lawyer, and became a published author.
“He graduated from high school, then attended Southern Methodist University. In 1984, he earned a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin. He was admitted to the bar for two years. Later, he practiced as a lawyer for decades,” Philip said.
Philip said that with time, Paul learned to breathe on his own and would leave the iron lung for some time.
“The doctors never expected him to live for long; they were actually surprised that he lived for 71 years in the iron lung,” Philip added.
Phillip said that Paul’s health had deteriorated in recent weeks, and the brothers spent their final days together until he lost his life on March 14, 2024, in the wee hours of the morning.
Philip added that his brother was a welcoming and warm person with a big smile, which instantly put people at ease.
Paul was recognized by Guinness World Records as the person who lived the longest in an iron lung.
An iron lung is a type of negative pressure ventilator (NPV), a mechanical respirator that encloses most of a person’s body and varies the air pressure in the enclosed space to stimulate breathing. It assists breathing when muscle control is lost, or the work of breathing exceeds the person’s ability.
Due to technological advancement, the iron lung was replaced by ventilators in the 1960s, but Paul kept living in the cylinder because he was used to it.
