Discover the story of Paul Richard Alexander, who contracted polio at a young age and became known as the man who lived inside the Iron Lung.
The Iron Lung was once ‘state-of-the-art’ technology that saved lives during polio outbreaks and inspired other innovations that we use today.Paul Richard Alexander, popularly known as Polio Paul, passed away last week at 78. Paul took to social media to share his story in the last few months before his death. He spread the word about the importance of polio vaccination.
The giant cylinder is airtight and requires patients to slide inside it up to their neck. The cylinder is connected to a bellows that cycles air in and out with the help of a pump. This pushes air into the patient’s lungs and is medically referred to as External Negative Pressure Ventilation . For physicians, the Iron Lung helped expand the scope of patient ventilation support. Instead of using negative pressure that sucked air into the patient’s lungs, Bjorn Aage Ibsen, a Danish doctor, devised a positiveThe machine was smaller and easier to use and soon became a device regularly used by anesthesiologists to help patients in the operating room breathe.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Lung screening saves lives: How Temple Lung Center is screening Philly community against lung cancerThe Temple Healthy Chest Initiative (THCI) has been educating and screening the Philadelphia community for a variety of conditions that can be detected through a simple ten-minute screening.
Read more »
Man who lived 70 years in iron lung after polio diagnosis passes awayA Texas man who lived in an iron lung for 70 years after being diagnosed with polio as a child has died.
Read more »
Paul Alexander, polio survivor who spent over 70 years in iron lung, dead at 78A man who spent 70 years living inside a metal chamber to help him breathe, has died aged 78. Paul Alexander was widely known as 'the man in the iron lung' and was also a lawyer and author
Read more »
Paul Alexander, polio survivor who lived in iron lung for 70 years, dies age 78Emily is a health news writer based in London, United Kingdom. She holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Durham University and a master's degree in clinical and therapeutic neuroscience from Oxford University. She has worked in science communication, medical writing and as a local news reporter while undertaking journalism training.
Read more »
Texas man who lived in iron lung after getting polio dies at 78Polio was once one of the nation’s most feared diseases, with annual outbreaks causing thousands of cases of paralysis. The disease primarily affects children.
Read more »
Man Who Used Iron Lung His Whole Life After Contracting Polio As Child DiesDALLAS (AP) — A Texas man who spent most of his 78 years using an iron lung chamber and built a large following on social media, recounting his life from contracting polio in the 1940s to earning a law degree, has died.
Read more »