Did you see the story about the Texas guy who lived 72 years in an iron lung before dying at age 78?
Paul Alexander contracted polio as a six-year-old child in 1952 at the height of the polio epidemic in America.
Unable to breathe on his own, Alexander was placed in an iron lung machine that would enable his weakened lungs to function.
Sad? Of course. But that six-year-old boy kept breathing, and learning, and lived to a fairly ripe old age.
Amazing? Definitely!
But Paul didn’t just lie there helpless in that iron lung while the years rolled by. He led an amazingly fulfilling life in spite of that incredible challenge.
He eventually learned to get out of the iron lung for short periods through a specialized breathing technique and to sit upright in a wheelchair.
And check it: He graduated high school, obtained a law degree from the University of Texas and opened a legal practice, according to a story in USA Today. He even wrote a book about his life in 2020.
Can you imagine that? I really can’t, but it brings up an interesting topic: Who helped him achieve these amazing accomplishments? The story doesn’t say.
But think about it: Here’s a guy who could basically only move his head and neck.
So who fed him all those years? Who took care of his bathroom needs? Who brushed his teeth and cut his hair? Who read to him, who wrote down his thoughts and answers to his law degree questions? Who helped him find clients for his practice? Who helped him write his book and get it published?
The questions go on and on…
Obviously, Paul had many angelic caregivers during his 78 years. But here’s the thing: Despite all the odds stacked against him, he never let Life get him down or gave up trying to live it the best way he could.
According to the news story, he had a TikTok account with more than 300,000 followers. These were folks who undoubtedly drew inspiration from his struggle and accomplishments.
In one of his final statements, he remained positive:
“I have goals and dreams of doing some more things before I go visit some place, and I plan to do and accomplish those goals with my friends. I want to talk to the world about polio and the millions of children not protected against polio. They have to be, before there's another epidemic."
A vaccination against polio was created in 1955, and the disease has largely been eradicated from the world since the early 1960s. However, Alexander worried that unvaccinated children would always be at risk.
But now he is gone from this world, dying after contracting the polio of our time: Covid-19. No word in the story as to whether he had been vaccinated against it.
His funeral in Dallas is set for March 24.
I can only hope and pray that the spirit of this good, strong man is now soaring above us — untethered from his withered body and able — at long last — to freely explore the Universe.
He was known as the “iron lung man.”
But he was truly an Iron Man.
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