The Man in the Iron Lung

This is the man in the iron lung, Paul Alexander (born 1946). He is a polio survivor and one of the last people living in an iron lung. He contracted polio in 1952 at the age of 6 and paralyzed for life, only able to move his head, neck and mouth. When his parents noticed he was not able to breath, they rushed him to the hospital. During that time, it was the worst outbreak of polio in history. Since then, he has been taking help of a machine called iron lung which uses negative pressure to stimulate breathing to the patients. Despite his illness, he was home-schooled and graduated second in his class in 1967. He got his bachelor's degree from University of Texas in 1978, then his J.D. (law) degree in 1984 and became a lawyer.

After leaving the hospital, Paul came to his residence in Dallas, Texas. But his life was never going to be the same. He couldn't play sports and hang out with his friends. People didn't like him much. They would find very uncomfortable around him. He remembers about the doctors talk when they walked through on their rounds. “He's going to die today,” they said. “He shouldn't be alive.” It made him furious. It made him want to live.

This would make anyone feel like giving up. But Paul didn't want to die. He just continued to fight. He did everything he could. He fought against polio every day. It was hard, painful and tiring. But he didn't stop there. Paul wrote his own biography with a pen attached to a stick, entirely with his mouth. The book named Three Minutes for a Dog was released in April 2020. It took him more than eight years to write it, using the stick to tap out his story on the keyboard, or dictating the words to his friends. He wants to inspire thousands of people like us.

In an interview, Paul said:

No matter where you're from or what your past is, or the challenges that you could be facing, you can truly do anything. You've just got to set your mind to it and work hard!

My story, is an example of why your past or even your disability does not have to define your future.

Paul's dream is to not let polio defeat him but to defeat polio. He wanted to accomplish the thing he was told he couldn't and achieve the dream he dreamed.

Paul may have an iron lung, but he has a golden soul, and a diamond heart!