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An American died Wednesday after using an imposing machine to help him breathe for seven decades. Paralyzed since childhood from the neck down, he died at the age of 78.
He was known to live locked in a large iron tube. Paul Alexander died this Monday March 11 at the age of 78. Nicknamed “the man in an iron lung”, he contracted polio as a child and was paralyzed from the neck down. He could only move his head. It was his brother, Philip Alexander, who announced the sad news on Facebook “with a heavy heart”. Paul “touched and inspired millions of people”he said, without specifying the exact reasons for the death.
“A positive influence around the world”
Its nickname comes from the iron lung, this chamber using pumps to modify the pressure around the body and thus allow the patient to breathe. This invention helped combat the devastating effects of polio. Paul Alexander held the record for time spent in this device, approximately 70 years.
Despite the difficulties posed by the impressive machine, which enveloped his entire body, leaving only his head visible, the man in question managed to obtain a law degree and practice in this field. He also published a book. In addition, he had learned to breathe during “prolonged periods” without his cumbersome equipment, by contracting the muscles in his throat to force air into his lungs, which earned him a place in the “Guinness World Records”.
Paul Alexander shared his story in the media and social networks. It was notably followed by 300,000 people on TikTok. “His story has traveled far, and has had a positive influence on people around the world.”greeted Christopher Ulmer, the organizer of a fundraising campaign which was intended in particular to help him pay his health costs.
Cases of poliomyelitis, a pathology against which there is now a vaccine, have declined enormously worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The 350,000 cases recorded in the years in 1988 have given way to a few hundred cases per year currently. This serious infectious disease, which can lead to irreversible paralysis, however, remains present in a handful of countries (Nigeria, Pakistan or Afghanistan for example) and reappears occasionally in others.
MG with AFP
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