Paul Alexander, who lived in an iron lung, dies at 78

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Paul Alexander, who lived in an iron lung, dies at 78
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Alexander contracted polio in 1952, when he was 6. He became paralyzed from the neck down and he began using an iron lung to breathe.

Confined to an iron lung after contracting polio as a child, Paul Alexander managed to train himself to breathe on his own for part of the day, earned a law degree, wrote a book about his life, built a big following on social media and inspired people around the globe with his positive outlook.

Spinks said Alexander's positivity had a profound effect on those around him."Being around Paul was an enlightenment in so many ways," Spinks said. Gary Cox, who has been friends with Alexander since college, said his friend was always smiling."He was so friendly," Cox said."He was always happy." Alexander, who earned a bachelor's degree in economics in 1978 from the University of Texas and a law degree from the school in 1984, was a driven man who had a strong faith in God, said Spinks. They became friends in 2000, when Cox took a job as his driver and helper.

"There were a couple of close calls when his lung would break and I would rush out there and we would have to do some repairs on it," Spinks said. Polio was once one of the nation's most feared diseases, with annual outbreaks causing thousands of cases of paralysis. The disease primarily affects children.

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