AUSTIN, Texas — For 72 years, Paul Alexander lived most of his life in and out of an iron lung, after contracting the polio virus when he was 6-years-old and lost the ability to breathe on his own.
A cylinder that encased his body created the air pressure that forced air into and out of his lungs – a cumbersome, mechanical life saver.
But that didn’t stop Paul from living a remarkable life.
Alexander earned a law degree from The University of Texas at Austin, wrote a book about his life, built a big following on social media and inspired people around the globe. He was seen by millions in regular online TikTok videos.
Paul eventually learned to breathe on his own for several hours a day and could leave the machine, only to return when it became difficult to draw a breath.
Alexander passed away this week in a Dallas hospital after contracting COVID-19. He was 78-years-old.
He had been a member of a generation mostly of children stricken with polio, a virus that struck fear in parents everywhere.
In 1952, during the worst polio outbreak in U.S. history, 57,000 people were infected, 21,000 were paralyzed and 3,000 died, most of them children.
Scientists eventually discovered a vaccine. To offer reassurance that it was safe, publicity pictures showed singer Elvis Presley getting one of the first shots.
By 1979, polio had been eradicated in the U.S., only to return in 2022 when the CDC reported new cases had started showing up.