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Paul Alexander, who lived in an iron lung for more than 70 years after Polio left him paralyzed, died after contracting Covid-19, according to reports. 'Ultimately, it was not an iron lung defect, but a corona infection that led to his death. He died peacefully in the presence of his brother,' German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reports. The publication printed what may be the final interview with Alexander this week, with the extraordinary man telling its reporter earlier this year that he had 'almost died a thousand times' and suspected he did not have much time left. The 78-year-old was admitted...

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...

Folks in this small Cleveland County town still talk about the community’s most famous person – the woman in the iron lung. Polio victim Martha Mason – paralyzed from the neck down – died in 2009 after spending 61 years in an airtight tube that breathed for her. Her 2003 memoir, “Breath: A Lifetime in the Rhythm of an Iron Lung,” released by a small N.C. publisher, has just been reissued by a national firm with a foreword by novelist Anne Rivers Siddons, who called it a story of “hope and heroism.” Also, the community is raising money for a...

Psst! Hey kid! Come over here and jump off this bridge! All the cool kids've done it 'n you're the only one left! It won't hurt, it'll be fun. Anyhow, if ya don't do it, I'm gonna come back 'n bugya, 'n bugya, 'n bugya forever till ya do. With that sort of reasoned discourse in the background, accompanied by taunts of "You smell like an ASHTRAY!", Philadelphia finally jumped on the bandwagon and banned smoking. Well, sorta. They banned it unless you're a bar that agrees not to feed its customers anything healthy, one that's well-off enough to have...

There was a post I saw yesterday concerning a man married to someone with polio for over 50 years. How he stayed with her constantly. Does anyone know the title or have a thread to the post? It would be most appreciated. I tried searching using polio and iron lung but could not find it. I thank you in advance for any assistance.