Have you heard of Paul Alexander? You may know him as Polio Paul. Paul spent over seven decades inside a 600-pound iron lung! He spent most of his life defying the odds after being struck down by polio at the young age of six.
The polio epidemic occurred between 1948 and 1955. Large gatherings were avoided, and often children were kept isolated from their friends. The epidemic and the effects of the disease left many feeling helpless and terrified.
Paul had been paralyzed from the neck down since 1952, a result of the devastating polio outbreak. The disease left Paul too weak to breathe on his own. A polio vaccine was introduced in 1955, but it unfortunately came too late for Paul. An emergency tracheotomy and the iron lung were ultimately what saved Paul’s life.
In 2023, Paul set a world record as the longest iron lung patient ever.
How does the iron lung work, you ask? It’s not as straightforward as it may sound.
The iron lung was developed in 1927 at the Harvard School of Public Health by Philip Drinker and Louis Agassiz Shaw. The first clinical use occurred in 1928. The iron lung was originally brought about as a solution for coal-gas poisoning, but would become best known for aiding polio victims.
The iron lung creates an airtight chamber with a patient's head outside, sealed by a collar around the neck. The lung is powered by an electric motor and operates on external negative pressure ventilation. This process involves sucking air out of the chamber to expand the patient's lungs with oxygen and then letting air back in for exhalation. This method kept patients alive by facilitating breathing when their bodies were otherwise unable to do so.
Although there have been advances in medical technology, Paul refused to leave his “iron horse,” as he called it. He had grown accustomed to the machine over the years. Paul has been able to spend limited time outside of the machine using a method he calls “frog breathing." The method requires Paul to swallow oxygen through his mouth.
For most polio cases, patients were only in the iron lung for a few weeks. These days, with the increase in ventilators, the iron lung is almost nonexistent.
Sadly, on March 11, 2024, at the age of 78, Paul Alexander passed away.
Despite the limitations life dealt Paul, he never let his condition hold him back. Believe It or Not!, Paul graduated with a law degree and practiced law for several years. Paul even went on to write a book about his inspiring life story.
Paul serves as an inspiration and is the story of a man who has been dealt a series of unfortunate luck.
Paul stayed positive and continued to be a success throughout his life. He was able to turn what would be a world-ending event to some into a minor setback. He’s the true embodiment of human resilience.
Want to get up close and personal with an iron lung? Visit Ripley's Believe It or Not! Orlando and come face to face with an artifact of medical history!
