Man who lived inside iron lung for more than 70 years has sadly died aged 78
Paul Alexander, a man who spent over seven decades living inside an iron lung, has died at the age of 78.
An announcement was made on his GoFundMe, which is now no longer accepting donations, saying that Paul had died.
It said: "Paul Alexander, 'The Man in the Iron Lung', passed away yesterday. After surviving polio as a child, he lived over 70 years inside of an iron lung.
"In this time Paul went to college, became a lawyer, and a published author. His story traveled wide and far, positively influencing people around the world.
"Paul was an incredible role model that will continue to be remembered. I met and interviewed Paul in 2022.
"Our community raised a large amount of money for him.
"I just got off the phone with Philip, Pauls’ brother, who wants to communicate the following message: 'I am so gratitude to everybody who donated to my brother’s fundraiser. It allowed him to live his last few years stress-free.'
"'It will also pay for his funeral during this difficult time. It is absolutely incredible to read all the comments and know that so many people were inspired by Paul. I am just so grateful.'
"Paul, you will be missed but always remembered. Thanks for sharing your story with us."
There had been concerns for Paul's health as his social media manager Lincoln posted a health update days earlier telling his fans that he'd been rushed to hospital and tested positive for Covid.
That was posted on 27 February and Paul was inundated with well-wishes and positive messages from people sending their love to him.
Paul Alexander spent most of his life inside an iron lung after contracting polio at the age of six and becoming paralysed from the neck down.
He didn't let living inside an iron lung stop him from living as full a life as possible and he was determined to live and learn.
Paul graduated second in his class from W.W. Samuell High, Texas, in 1967 and reckons he'd have been top of the class if he'd been able to get into the biology lab.
He went on to study at Southern Methodist University before transferring to University of Texas at Austin, getting a bachelor's degree in 1978 and a law degree in 1984.
Paul worked teaching legal terms to court stenographers until 1986 when he passed the bar exam and worked in family law.
Joe Harker