DALLAS — Paul Alexander was only five years old when he learned he had contracted polio. It was a diagnosis that a younger brother, Philip, remembers had a huge impact on their family.
Paul Alexander, who spent more than 70 years in an iron lung after a childhood polio diagnosis died earlier this week. He was 78 years old.
On Friday, Philip was finally able to put into words what his brother meant to him, and, beyond just being a paralytic polio survivor and the 'man in the iron lung.'
"I always knew I was it. I was his backstop," said Philip.
Philip recalls his parents telling them that doctors believed Paul would not survive long after his two-year stay at Old Parkland Hospital in Dallas. Paul defied the odds and doctors by living 73 years after he contracted the disease that attacks the nervous system of young children.
"I remember him; his curly head sticking out of that iron lung," said Sue Perry who was four years old and also in the polio ward at Old Parkland.
Perry has a great memory and recalls seeing rows of yellow iron lungs like the one Paul lived in up until this week. The iron lung would stimulate breathing for those whose respiratory system was compromised.
Philip tells WFAA that Paul's body was failing for 'some time' and he fell ill three weeks prior to passing. The family tells WFAA that Paul was being treated at Clements University Hospital. Philip says Paul had COVID-19 and a stomach virus and while he was fully conscious up until the last day his respiratory function was practically non-existent.
"I basically held [his breathing] tube. It was sort of my last gift to my brother was a few breaths," Philip said.
Philip was honored to help one last time by holding his breathing tube. When they were young Philip would help Paul get dressed and fed. Paul did not want people feeling sorry for him. Paul would write books, go to law school, and even practice law in Texas.
Sue Perry knows she's one of the lucky ones. One, to have survived polio. And two, to live a full life without many physical restrictions. Many of the children in the Dallas ward with them ward did not survive. She tells WFAA her left leg is weaker and she walks with a limp. She says this week hearing about Paul's passing was tough.
"The first thing I thought about is, I'm glad I got to meet him. He did so much and had such an impact on so many people's lives," she said.
Philip will always remember Paul's last words to him early Monday morning, the day he had passed.
"He looked up at me and said, 'We are perfect.' I just went, 'Woah, that's pretty strong,'" Philip recalled.
Paul was the longest-living iron lung patient in history but Philip saw so much more.
"I'm honored to have been his brother," he said.
A visitation is set for 6 p.m. March 19 at Grove Hill Funeral Home at 3920 Samuell Boulevard in Dallas, followed by a funeral service at 2 p.m. March 20.