Paul Alexander lived an extraordinary life, spending most of it inside an iron lung, a respirator dating back to 1928. Despite this, he refused to accept limitations, declaring, “I am not going to accept from anybody their limitations on my life. My life is incredible.”
At six years old in 1952, Paul contracted polio in Dallas, Texas, a time when the virus paralyzed thousands. Initially pronounced dead, a second doctor saved him with an emergency tracheotomy, placing him in an iron lung. Waking up days later, he was surrounded by rows of children in similar machines. “I didn’t know what had happened. I kept asking myself: Is this what death is?” he recalled.
Paul spent 18 months recovering in the iron lung, a device that uses pressure to help patients breathe. Despite doctors doubting his survival, he defied expectations. In 1954, he left the hospital but faced societal discomfort. With the help of a therapist, he learned to “frog-breathe,” allowing him time outside the iron lung. By 21, he became the first to graduate high school—with honors—without attending class. He later earned degrees from Southern Methodist University and the University of Texas at Austin, becoming a successful lawyer.
Paul’s iron lung, no longer manufactured, became his constant companion. When it nearly broke down in 2017, he sought spare parts from abandoned machines. Known for his resilience, he once said, “I wanted to accomplish the things I was told I couldn’t accomplish.”
Polio was eradicated in the U.S. by 1979, but vaccine-derived cases remain a concern. Paul, one of the last iron lung users, passed away in March 2024. His brother, Philip, remembered him as a “welcoming, warm person” with a “big smile,” emphasizing Paul’s strength and independence despite his physical challenges.