After living for 70 years inside an iron lung machine after contracting polio when he was young, American Paul Alexander (78 years old), who was residing in Texas, died..
According to the Al Arabiya website, this came in a post written by his brother Philip on Facebook, where he said that “it was an honor for me to be part of the life of someone who was loved as he was. He influenced and inspired millions, and this is not an exaggeration.”“.
Paul Richard Alexander was born in 1946 and grew up in a quiet suburb of Dallas with his two brothers, Nick and Philip.
But in 1952, when he was 6 years old, he was placed inside an iron cylinder that covered the entire body, known as the iron lung, after he contracted polio, a deadly disease that had caused tens of thousands of children to be paralyzed every year in the past..
The iron lung uses pressure to push air into the lungs.
His mother homeschooled him and he became the first to graduate from high school in Dallas without attending classes in person.
He also went out in his wheelchair with his friends to the local cinema and restaurant, and went to his family’s church as well.
Alexander applied for admission to the university. After two years of rejection, he eventually enrolled at Southern Methodist University, then the University of Texas at Austin Law School.
He then worked as a lawyer, and even appeared in court in a modified wheelchair that kept him upright. He was supported by a team of caregivers, and took notes by holding a pen on a stick in his mouth.
Paul Alexander, who did not let his terrible childhood illness control his life and his ambitions, emphasized in his last words that he wanted to achieve the things that I was told he could not achieve, and to achieve the dreams that he had..
He also added, “My story is an example that your past or even your disability does not have to determine your future. You can really do anything. All you have to do is work hard.”
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