Seven decades inside an iron lung: a polio survivor's remarkable life
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Paul Alexander contracted polio at six and spent more than 70 years in an iron lung, becoming the world’s longest-known survivor to rely on the device. He learned glossopharyngeal breathing to spend more time out of the machine, earned a UT Austin education and a law degree, and ran a Dallas practice with a devoted network of family and caregivers. After a 2015 replacement iron lung was found, Guinness World Records recognized him in 2023 as the longest-living iron-lung user; he died in 2024 at 78. His life illustrates polio’s history, the vaccine era, and the resilience of independence-seeking individuals with disabilities.
- A six-year-old entered an iron lung after polio. More than 70 years later, he had become the world’s long The Times of India
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- The iron lung is gone, polio isn’t: Why we must not forget the disease we’ve spent centuries trying to erase 7NEWS
- The End of the Iron Lung Era Doesn't Mean the End of Polio Risk Medical Daily
- At age 6, he woke up trapped inside a giant metal tube and spent the next 70 years in it. Meet Paul Alexan The Economic Times
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