Posted on 08/31/2023 6:02:05 PM PDT by lowbridge
A man dubbed “Polio Paul” has lived inside a 600-pound iron lung for seven decades, reportedly refusing to upgrade to a modern machine.
Paul Alexander, 77, contracted polio in 1952 when he was 6 years old. In March, Guinness World Records declared him the longest iron lung patient ever.
He has faced many challenges since he was born in 1946. Just last year, Alexander was “taken advantage of by people who were supposed to care for his best interests,” with a fundraiser collecting $132,000 for him.
In 1952, he endured the worst polio outbreak in US history with almost 58,000 cases — mostly children — reported.
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Shortly after he was diagnosed, the Texan underwent an emergency tracheotomy and was placed in an iron lung to help his body combat the deadly disease.
He has relied on the neck-to-toe ventilator to survive ever since.
Alexander’s machine was invented in 1928 and has not been manufactured since the late ’60s, as technology has advanced.
The iron lung is an airtight capsule covering everything but the head as it sucks oxygen through negative pressure, forcing the lungs to expand to allow the patient to breathe, per Medscape.
The contraption is large and cumbersome and requires the person using it to be fastened inside.
Despite the invention of more modern machinery, Alexander has preferred to continue living in his iron lung.
He explained to the Guardian in 2020 that by the time newer machines were developed, he had become used to his “old iron horse.”
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He finished high school, graduated college, earned a law degree, practiced law for several decades and wrote a memoir — all while relying upon his iron lung.
“I never gave up, and I’m [still] not going to,” Alexander said in a 2021 video interview.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Jeez. If anyone needs a prayer, it’s this guy. Lord help him. Amen.
Good for him. I wouldn’t upgrade from something that is working to something supposedly better and have something go wrong.
Used to work with a fellow that had polio as a child. He was paralyzed in his upper body, but could move his legs a bit, and managed to type on a keyboard fairly well with his feet. He spent his days in a motorized wheelchair complete with a breathing machine, while at night he slept in an iron lung.
Many people including her had mild childhood cases that went undiagnosed only to have it come back in a non-contagious form even decades later & wreaking havoc on them.
My mom had polio as a child of 9. Spent a year in the hospital undergoing the Sister Kettering treatments.
No lasting side effects. She went on to marry, give birth to five children, and welcome all her grandchildren before passing at the age of 76.
I don’t know if I could survive that long in an iron lung. What an iron will!
Lord, help him overcome his pride and stubbornness.
Many people including her had mild childhood cases that went undiagnosed only to have it come back in a non-contagious form even decades later & wreaking havoc on them.
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I’m sorry. It sounds like she had a good life, until the polio.
We were dating when it hit her. I went from married to widower {via of a massive heart attack} to married and caregiver within literally 6 months. She passed in 2015 at the age of 64. Pneumonia had set in and 30 years of contortion on her body took it's toll.
She was on a vent for her last 3 weeks. Vents is what took the place of Iron Lungs. Long term wise they do not send a patient home on a Vent and only a handfull of facilities in the USA accept long term Vent patients. The nearest one was almost 500 miles in West Virginia.
Her name was Sister Kenny I believe.
You are a man among men. Thank you for your devotion to your wife.
GOD blessed me through her.
You are correct, Jean2. My bad, Sister Kenny.
I was digging back in my memory some 50 years to when my mom shared her experiences with me.
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