Paul Alexander, also known as “Polio Paul”, one of the last men in the world to live with a pen in his mouth and connected to an iron lung Photo: AP
“I lost everything: the ability to move, my feet didn’t support me, and then I couldn’t breathe,” he recalls. Paul AlexanderAmericans that many call “Poliopole”. Texan is still one of the last people in the world to rely on the iron lung.Your life is one History of struggle and resistance Rarely seen.
76-year-old Alexander is in captivity. His life has been underpinned by being “tied up” by a giant machine that oxygenates him since he was infected with polio, one of the most famous deadly illnesses of the last century. His transmission was 70 years ago.
The giant ventilator, known as the “iron lung,” was invented in the United States in the 1920s. At that time, the ward The worst outbreak that hits the country And it lasted until the middle of the last century.
Poliopole, a man with an iron lung. Photo: Ary News
By 1959, about 1,200 Americans lived on iron lungs, but over the years, these giant machines were less common, primarily for one reason: the spread of polio vaccines. lost. 1979, The United States has been declared free of polioAnd by 2014, only 10 Americans were using iron lungs. Today there are only two: another patient and Alexander, He decided to talk about his life A tireless battle.
“Poliopole” told the Guardian: Infected with polio in 1952 When he was 6 years old and lived with his family in the suburbs of Dallas. When he was very young, he was paralyzed from his waist down and was taken to the hospital and put on a machine.
The iron lung Airtight capsule that inhales oxygen Negative pressure dilates the lungs and allows the patient to breathe. This is a large, heavy cylindrical tube that requires the wearer to remain buckled during operation.
A man in the iron lung, Paul Alexander, known as “Polio Paul”. Photo: Ary News
Currently, the iron lung Almost unused In the modern world of respiratory therapy. Most patients with respiratory muscle paralysis use mechanical ventilation. They push air into the airways with positive pressure.
Paul Alexander began to connect with the iron lung at the age of six, and since then his life has changed forever.
Before he was 20, Alexander was so dependent on the device that doctors lowered his expectations for the future. But he had other plans. “I never gave up, And I’m not going to do that yet. “
He never gave up. “I didn’t like watching TV all day, so I started studying and graduated from high school with honor,” he says. He graduated from the University of Texas with a PhD in Law in 1984. I’ve always wanted to be a lawyer“He remembered Reuters with a smile.
Image of a 1955 US hospital where polio outbreaks were still ongoing. In the room, you can see the iron lung, which was a postcard of the time.
Alexander has been working as a lawyer for decades and was sometimes able to pull himself out of the iron lung, but now he is old. 24 hours a day dependent Of the machine.At the Dallas Center people always help you and when you need help to repair your device you get help Brady Richards, A local mechanic who rebuilt the original iron lung. “Without him, my life would have been declining,” admits Alexander.
Paul Alexander wrote his own biography with a pen tied to his mouth: it took five years.
“”I do the same as everyone else.. I wake up, wash my face, brush my teeth, shave, and have breakfast.I need a little more help to do that, “the man who took him out last year jokes, despite his limitations. First biography, It was entitled “3 Minutes for Dogs: My Life in the Iron Lung”.He wrote it in 5 years and wrote every word in the book Put a pen on the stick in his mouth.
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Paul Alexander’s daily life
At the end table, his head is surrounded by equipment to connect with the outside world. Computers, phones, wireless speakers.. There is also a glass with a straw that allows you to drink liquids, and a long plastic T-shaped device that you can operate with your mouth to send emails and answer calls.
But who will help him? Since over 30 years Kathryn Gaines A person who helps him. They lived together for 15 years. After that, the woman moved to the next house and now lives one block away. “We’re a little on good terms,” she said. “I haven’t killed him yet,” he laughs.
A man in the iron lung with Kathryn Gaines, a woman who has taken care of him for 30 years. Photo: Smiley Pool / DMN
After living a long and interesting life today, Alexander has his experience An example of patience To others.
“You can actually do anything, regardless of where you come from, your background, or the challenges you may face. You just have to turn your heart to it and work hard... My story is an example of why your past and even obstacles don’t need to define your future. “
More modern ventilators were designed with advances in medicine, but lawyers decided to continue living with his old iron lung. “I wanted to achieve what they said they couldn’t achieve to me.”, He said, adding: “And the dream I dreamed of will come true.” All the messages.
Source: Clarin
