Paul Alexander: The man with the iron lung who became a lawyer
by Joe Middleton
Mar 14, 2024
4 minutes
Six-year-old Paul Alexander was enjoying playing outside with his brother when he started to feel unwell, with a pounding headache, aching neck and rapidly developing fever.
He trudged home for dinner, immediately alarming his mother, who was well aware of the polio outbreak that had ripped through his home state of Texas in 1952, causing social venues, such as bars and cinemas to shut in order to stem the spread.
The young man was ordered to take bed rest, but his condition worsened and he was rushed to hospital where doctors performed a life-saving tracheotomy on him
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