Paul Alexander (polio survivor): Difference between revisions
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| education = [[Southern Methodist University]],<br/>[[University of Texas at Austin]] |
| education = [[Southern Methodist University]],<br/>[[University of Texas at Austin]] |
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| occupation = Lawyer |
| occupation = Lawyer |
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| known_for = |
| known_for = One of the last people living inside of an [[iron lung]] |
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'''Paul Richard Alexander '''(born January 30, 1946) is an American lawyer and paralytic [[polio]] survivor. He is the last |
'''Paul Richard Alexander '''(born January 30, 1946) is an American lawyer and paralytic [[polio]] survivor. He is among the last people living in an [[iron lung]] after he contracted polio in 1952 at the age of six.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=McRobbie|first=Linda Rodriguez|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/26/last-iron-lung-paul-alexander-polio-coronavirus|title=The man in the iron lung|work=[[The Guardian]]|date=May 26, 2020|access-date=January 27, 2021|issn=0261-3077|language=en-GB|archive-date=September 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909050756/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/may/26/last-iron-lung-paul-alexander-polio-coronavirus|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Buncombe|first=Andrew|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/polio-iron-lung-survivors-photos-lives-inside-ventilators-a8070881.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/polio-iron-lung-survivors-photos-lives-inside-ventilators-a8070881.html |archive-date=May 25, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=America's last iron lung users on their lives spent inside obsolete ventilators|website=[[The Independent]]|date=November 22, 2017|access-date=January 27, 2021|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|author=Casa Editorial El Tiempo|date=February 11, 2021|title=Lleva 70 años sin poder moverse y vive gracias a un pulmón de acero|url=https://www.eltiempo.com/cultura/gente/hombre-ha-vivido-70-anos-gracias-a-un-pulmon-de-acero-566374|access-date=February 13, 2021|website=[[El Tiempo (Colombia)|El Tiempo]]|language=spanish|archive-date=August 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826033732/https://www.eltiempo.com/cultura/gente/hombre-ha-vivido-70-anos-gracias-a-un-pulmon-de-acero-566374|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Ramirez|first=Marc|url=https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2018/05/25/living-inside-a-canister-dallas-polio-survivor-is-one-of-few-people-left-in-u-s-using-iron-lung/|title=Living inside a canister: Dallas polio survivor is one of few people left in U.S. using iron lung|website=[[Dallas News]]|date=May 25, 2018|access-date=February 13, 2021|language=en|archive-date=August 26, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210826033727/https://www.dallasnews.com/news/2018/05/25/living-inside-a-canister-dallas-polio-survivor-is-one-of-few-people-left-in-u-s-using-iron-lung/|url-status=live}}</ref> |
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== Background and education == |
== Background and education == |
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Revision as of 22:26, 9 February 2024
Paul Alexander | |
|---|---|
| Born | Paul Richard January 30, 1946[citation needed] Dallas, Texas, U.S. |
| Education | Southern Methodist University, University of Texas at Austin |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Known for | One of the last people living inside of an iron lung |
Paul Richard Alexander (born January 30, 1946) is an American lawyer and paralytic polio survivor. He is among the last people living in an iron lung after he contracted polio in 1952 at the age of six.[1][2][3][4]
Background and education
Alexander contracted polio at the age of six and was paralyzed for life, only able to move his head, neck, and mouth.[5][6][7]
During a major U.S. outbreak of polio in the early 1950s, hundreds of children around Dallas, Texas, including Alexander, were taken to Parkland Hospital. There, children were treated in a ward of iron lungs. He almost died in the hospital before a doctor noticed he was not breathing and rushed him into an iron lung.[8] Beginning in 1954, with help from the March of Dimes and a physical therapist named Mrs. Sullivan, Alexander taught himself glossopharyngeal breathing which allowed him to leave the iron lung for gradually increasing periods of time.[9] Alexander was one of Dallas Independent School District's first homeschooled students. He learned to memorize instead of taking notes. At 21, he graduated second in his class from W.W. Samuell High in 1967, becoming the first person to graduate from a Dallas high school without physically attending a class.[1]
Alexander received a scholarship[5] to Southern Methodist University. He transferred to University of Texas at Austin, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1978, then a Juris Doctor in 1984.[10] He got a job teaching legal terminology to court stenographers at an Austin trade school before being admitted to the bar in 1986.[11][12]
Alexander has been recognized by Guinness World Records as the person who has spent the longest amount of time living in an iron lung.[13]
Book
Alexander self-published his memoir, Three Minutes for a Dog: My Life in an Iron Lung, in April 2020 with the assistance of friend Norman D. Brown RN (retired). According to The Guardian, they said "It took him more than eight years to write it, using the plastic stick and a pen to tap out his story on the keyboard, or dictating the words to his friend."[1]
References
- ^ a b c McRobbie, Linda Rodriguez (May 26, 2020). "The man in the iron lung". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on September 9, 2021. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
- ^ Buncombe, Andrew (November 22, 2017). "America's last iron lung users on their lives spent inside obsolete ventilators". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 25, 2022. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
- ^ Casa Editorial El Tiempo (February 11, 2021). "Lleva 70 años sin poder moverse y vive gracias a un pulmón de acero". El Tiempo (in Spanish). Archived from the original on August 26, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ Ramirez, Marc (May 25, 2018). "Living inside a canister: Dallas polio survivor is one of few people left in U.S. using iron lung". Dallas News. Archived from the original on August 26, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
- ^ a b Hoffman, Barry (December 1, 2014). "The Man in the Iron Lung". Consumer Health News. Archived from the original on May 22, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
- ^ Marchildon, Jackie (November 23, 2017). "Meet One of the Last Polio Survivors To Subscribe to Invincible Craft". Global Citizen. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
- ^ Adams, Phillip (June 16, 2020). "Man in an iron lung". ABC Radio National. Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
- ^ Panicker, Jobin (February 27, 2018). "Polio survivors from Parkland reunite six decades late". WFAA. Archived from the original on May 22, 2023. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
- ^ The Guardian Archived May 3, 2023, at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "Mr. Paul R. Alexander". Martindale-Hubbell. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
- ^ Ramirez, Marc (July 5, 2018). "Dallas lawyer has lived most of his life in an iron lung". Star Tribune. Archived from the original on May 1, 2023. Retrieved May 11, 2021.
- ^ Brown, Jennings (November 20, 2017). "The Last of the Iron Lungs". Gizmodo. Archived from the original on November 20, 2017. Retrieved January 27, 2021.
- ^ "Longest iron lung patient". Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on December 4, 2022. Retrieved December 4, 2022.
External links
Categories:
- 1946 births
- 21st-century American memoirists
- Living people
- 20th-century American lawyers
- 21st-century American lawyers
- 21st-century American male writers
- American writers with disabilities
- University of Texas School of Law alumni
- American lawyers with disabilities
- Polio survivors
- Southern Methodist University alumni