The “polio milk” story of a man who lived for 70 years with an iron lung tied up Chronicles

Paul Alexander Oh “Polio Ball”As his relatives call him, he is 75 years old and one of the last two Americans to thank him for the steel element, which means he needs to have a big machine built to give him oxygen. Treatment Antifolium myelitis It comes from the last century and sustaining it over time signifies a lot of resistance and perseverance.

It was not until 1952 that polio struck Polio, One of the most famous deadly diseases of the last century, which caused hospitals to collapse. By 1959, about 1,200 Americans relied on iron lungs to survive, but the polio vaccine was able to be distributed and most patients were released. By 2014, only 10 Americans stuck to this machine, and today there are only two.

Polio was 6 years old and lived in the suburbs with his family Dallas when the tragedy happened. “I lost everything: the ability to move, my legs didn’t support me, and then I couldn’t breathe.”Paul recalled Alexander in a conversation with The Guardian. He was taken to hospital with paralysis below the waist Placed in the machine.

Before reaching the age of 20, Alexander was so dependent on this device that doctors did not have to throw away the evil that had befallen him in the future. However, Paul never gave up, which is why he decided to tell The Guardian about his struggle against current and plans he has always had in mind.

Although modern ventilators were designed with the advancement of medicine, Paul decided to continue living with his old iron lungs. “I wanted to achieve what they told me I could not achieve.”, Said

“I never gave up, I’m not going to do it yet”He confirms today. “Because I hated watching TV all day, I started studying and graduated from high school.”, ர சி து. He then received his doctorate in layering at the University of Texas in 1984. “Finally something good happened, I always wanted to be a lawyer”, He remembered. So he worked for several months as a lawyer and was sometimes able to disconnect from the machine.

But now, at 75, she is dependent on herself at all times and has a personal assistant who attends with her 24 hours a day. If there is any damage to the person you are calling, have an expert on the machine Brady Richards, A local mechanic who rebuilt his original iron lung.

A day in the life of Paul Alexander

First, your head is surrounded by devices that connect to the outside world: the computer, the phone, and the wireless speaker. But amidst the jokes and laughter, Paul says he’s just doing it “with a little more help” like everyone else. “I get up, wash my face, brush my teeth, shave, eat breakfast; I need a little more help to do that.”, He revealed.

He also has a straw glass so he can drink liquids and use the long T-shaped plastic device he handles to send emails or answer the phone. But officially, without Katherine Keynes, The woman who helped him for more than 30 years, can do nothing.

However, last year he published his first biography “Three Minutes for a Dog: My Life in an Iron Lung”. He wrote it in five years, writing every word in the book with a ballpoint pen attached to a stick in his mouth.