After contracting polio at age 6 in 1952, Paul Alexander spent nearly his entire life inside an iron lung — yet he refused to let paralysis define him. He learned to breathe on his own for short periods, pursued higher education, practiced law, wrote a memoir, and built a global following with his uplifting spirit.
Alexander passed away Monday in Dallas at the age of 78, according to his longtime friend Daniel Spinks. He had recently been hospitalized with COVID-19, though his exact cause of death was not disclosed.
Despite being confined to the vintage ventilator, Alexander’s determination allowed him to live beyond expectation. He developed a technique called “frog breathing,” forcing air into his lungs so he could spend hours outside the machine. Using a stick in his mouth, he typed, made phone calls, and even argued in court.
“He loved to laugh,” Spinks said. “Being around Paul was enlightening. His positivity touched everyone.”
His 2020 book, Three Minutes for a Dog: My Life in an Iron Lung, recalled how as a child, a nurse promised him a puppy if he could stay out of the machine for three minutes. It took years of practice, but he eventually earned that reward — and the strength to stay out for an entire day.
Friends described Alexander as joyful, driven, and deeply faithful. Over the years, his supporters helped repair and maintain his increasingly rare iron lungs, even buying one from eBay to keep him safe.
Polio, once one of America’s most dreaded diseases, was eliminated in the U.S. in 1979 thanks to vaccines. But Alexander’s life became a living reminder of its toll — and of the extraordinary resilience of the human spirit.
“Paul inspired countless people around the world,” said Chris Ulmer of Special Books by Special Kids, who interviewed him in 2022. “He showed that no matter your circumstances, you can achieve great things.”
