Man who spent 70 years living in iron lung dies

A man who lived in an iron lung for seven decades after contracting polio as a child has died. Paul Alexander, of Dallas in Texas, US, was paralysed from the neck down after contracting the virus at the age of six in 1952. He was rushed to hospital after developing symptoms and woke up inside a mechanical lung.

- MATT MATHERS

Alexander, who was given the name “the man with the iron lung” lived inside it for the rest of his life.

According to a GoFundMe page set up to help pay for Alexander’s care, he died on Monday. Fundraising organiser Christopher Ulmer wrote: “Paul, you will be missed but always remembered. Thanks for sharing your story with us.”