A man in the US has spent more than seven decades inside a 600-pound iron lung after being struck down by polio at the age of six. Paul Alexander has been paralysed from the neck down since 1952 due to the disease, leaving him unable to breathe by himself. According to New York Post, “Polio Paul” has refused to upgrade to a modern machine. In March, Guinness World Records (GWR) declared the 77-year-old as the longest iron lung patient ever.
Mr Alexander has faced many challenges since he was born in 1946. He endured the worst polio outbreak in US history with almost 58,000 cases – mostly children.
As per the Post report, the disease severely affected Mr Alexander, requiring him to use a machine to breathe.
