The Last Few Polio Survivors – Last of the Iron Lungs Gizmodo

how we always horrible disease cannot do period lot have you made it she does about polio know what it is Paul Alexander is polio survivor who spins nearly all day every day inside his iron lung at home in Dallas Texas the disease paralyzed fall from the neck down so the machine helps him breathe by using negative pressure to force his body to take in air he was only six years old when he caught Palio in 1952 one of the worst outbreak years in US history when first Rankin woley though was just kidding can be jealous like he came to feel little bit you know bumps on my face again she doesn't eat giving away the bed how is he takes five days lost everything put these they finally relax they are two three got him with God like my bus of the God which left me in the yard walk for us my parents were so afraid of the mysterious deadly disease that they kept their children from playing with others pools theaters camps even schools shut down everybody was petrified the concept of polio kind of dominated the suburb they parents freaked out if the kid got to sniffles but just few months after Paul contracted the disease Jonas Salk discovered vaccine for polio today Paul is one of the last living polio survivors who has such bad case of paralysis that he still relies on relic of that dark time he can leave the device only for few hours at time with tremendous difficulty he relies on his longtime caretaker to do just about anything that he can't do with his own mouth but the iron lung hasn't stopped Paul from living full life he went to law school passed the bar exam and started his own practice come into my office they say and tell them thought he could handle that right at this point the last iron lung was manufactured about half century ago so Paul has struggled to find people who know how to repair the antique he became so desperate for help his friend posted YouTube video of Paul explaining that his iron lung was falling apart in hopes that machinist who knew how to help would see it but it wasn't until he met local mechanical engineer Brady Richards two years ago that Paul was able to stop worrying about his iron lung this is the instructions for the day so that's how we determine how was supposed to work Brady refurbished the machine in garage where he also works on hot rods and racecars this was the one Paul was originally in it's getting worn out it's leaking really bad and doesn't produce enough pressure that's why we took him out of this one and put him in the restored one the biggest challenge really was the lack of parts it wasn't the big parts it's the small parts nobody's got so we have to make them ourselves my life would be juice look year's we are barely generation past one of our country's most frightening epidemics so close that some of its victims are still living in the archaic machines of that era but for many it's forgotten history polio is still major concern in some developing countries some experts say it's possible new polio epidemic could happen in the u.s. as more and more parents are opting out of immunizing their children know was thirsty Afghanistan forever those still happy somebody carried the virus who come to America that just in fact one child it always takes one child this is appalling it's not fun trick real Paul just finished writing memoir using only his mouth he hopes it will help people understand what it's like to live with polio and why we must continue the fight to eradicate it globally I've always been inquisitive person my parents taught me to be to use my intelligence of my energy to be productive I've never thought of myself as that's not what I'd sees the news because played colors in the play out of those people's perceptions got disabled or not let it be get up quickly at least most people's lives except have experience everything good like that you have endured I'm Paul Xavier he would be