A Man Had Lived Inside an Iron Lung Machine for Over 65 Years
FAQ's
How long did people have to live in an iron lung?
two weeks Rows of iron lungs filled hospital wards at the height of the polio outbreaks of the 1940s and 1950s, helping children, and some adults, with bulbar polio and bulbospinal polio. A polio patient with a paralyzed diaphragm would typically spend two weeks inside an iron lung while recovering.
Is the last iron lung survivor still alive?
“They said, 'You can do anything. ' And I believed it.” Today, at the age of 77, Paul Alexander is the longest iron lung patient ever. Paul has been using his negative-pressure ventilator for 70 years, and currently spends most of his day inside the machine in his house.
Is the man in the iron lung still alive 2023?
Since Alexander was paralyzed from the neck down, his diaphragm was unable to function. To fix this, the doctors encased him in an iron lung – a ventilator that helps him breathe. Alexander is actually one of the last people alive in the world today still inside an iron lung.
Did people survive iron lung?
The machine was common during the polio epidemic, and Paul Alexander is one of the last people to be in one. The iron lung works to change the air pressure and stimulate breathing. It has been the home of 76-year-old Alexander, keeping him alive for 70 years.