One of the best examples of how we define our own potential is Paul Alexander, a 76-year-old man of perseverance who has lived most of his life confined to an iron lung.
Paul remembers that day clearly, when he was six years old, coming home and telling his mother how worried he was. Before then, Paul had had a typical childhood, full of energy and enjoying the company of other kids.
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He clearly recalled his mother’s incredulous reaction upon recalling the incident: “Oh my God, not my son.”. Paul was too young to know that he had contracted polio, so he was unable to recognize the seriousness of the situation or what was wrong.
In the most extreme cases, this contagious viral illness results in respiratory problems, paralysis, nerve damage, and even death.
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Regretfully, post-polio syndrome, which can manifest 15 to 40 years later, causes people who were thought to have fully recovered as children to relapse in their adult years with muscle soreness, weakness, or paralysis.
Paul’s health steadily declined over the course of a few days. His parents were so concerned that they rushed him to the hospital due to his fever and muscle aches. There, he was admitted along with many other children who had contracted the virus and were waiting for treatment even though there was no known cure.
Paul was given a glimmer of hope after being pronounced dead when a different physician stepped in and carried out an emergency tracheotomy. He was put inside an iron lung, also known as a “Drinker respirator,” which was created in the early 1920s. “.
This mechanical apparatus covers a sizable portion of the body and controls the air pressure inside its enclosure to facilitate breathing.
Paul stated emphatically in those first few minutes, “I had no idea what had happened.”. I used to dream a lot about passing away. I couldn’t stop asking myself questions like, “Is this how death feels?” and “Is this a coffin inside, or have I been thrust into a cruel empire?”.
Paul said of his fruitless attempts to get up and his incapacity even to move a finger, “I endeavored to sense something, anything, to make sense of my surroundings, but alas, it eluded me.”. It was an extremely strange event. “.
After serving an 18-month sentence in the iron lung, Paul started seeing a dedicated professional named Mrs. Sullivan, who expertly taught him the “frog breath” technique to breathe normally once more.
Paul was able to spend more time outside the iron lung thanks to this breakthrough than he had in the past.
