Paul “Polio Paul” Alexander, known for being the man in the iron lung on social media (or @ironlungman), has passed away.
The author who was confined to a cylindrical negative-pressure ventilator for over 70 years after contracting polio as a child died March 11, is family confirmed, via E!
News. He was 78. “It was an honor to be part of someone’s life who was as admired as he was. He touched and inspired millions of people and that is no exaggeration,” his brother Philip Alexander wrote on Facebook. Keep reading to find out more… An official cause of death has not yet been disclosed, but his social media manager shared that Paul had been hospitalized and tested positive for COVID-19 at the end of February.
After being fitted with an iron lung, he miraculously survived for seven decades with the help of his family and a therapist.