Paul Alexander, 'Iron Lung Man,' Dies at 78 After Testing Positive for COVID-19

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.

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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. He learned how to draw, write and paint without using his hands and wrote his 2020 memoir, Three Minutes for a Dog: My Life in an Iron Lung, by typing into a computer using a pencil placed in his mouth.

Paul even had a bachelor’s degree and law degree from the University of Texas at Austin, where he lived in a dorm, and worked as a lawyer for three decades.

He shared many details about his fascinating and inspirational life on TikTok, where he had hundreds of thousands of followers.

Our thoughts are with Paul‘s loved ones at this difficult time.

We have sadly lost many stars in 2024.