"Polio Paul" Has Died

March 13, 2024 8:58 PM

"Polio" Paul Alexander spent 70 of his 78 years alive inside of an iron lung. He was paralysed from the neck down due to complications from Polio. Despite this he became an author and lawyer.
posted by robotmachine (29 comments total)

Previously: https://www.metafilter.com/202821/Rage-keeps-you-breathing
posted by robotmachine at 8:59 PM on March 13 [3 favorites]

Thanks robotmachine. I was so sad at that update - he seems a helluva guy.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 9:09 PM on March 13 [1 favorite]

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posted by pt68 at 9:43 PM on March 13

A social murder, notes Nate Bear.
posted by girandole at 10:04 PM on March 13 [11 favorites]

It’s infuriating that he caught and may have died from Covid, whose transmission we can prevent, after being such an advocate for public health.
posted by congen at 10:04 PM on March 13 [16 favorites]

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posted by spinifex23 at 10:05 PM on March 13

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posted by augustimagination at 10:31 PM on March 13

People saying he definitely died of COVID seem to be out ahead of the established facts, at least as of right now (may change). Media indicates cause of death is not known. He did contract COVID last month, but he was also a 78-year-old quadriplegic dependent on mechanical ventilation--a fragile state to be in, period.
posted by praemunire at 11:00 PM on March 13

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posted by ZeusHumms at 11:52 PM on March 13

After he returned home, Mr. Alexander struggled with eating and hydrating as he recovered from the virus,

i don't feel like I need to wait for the coronor a lot on this
posted by away for regrooving at 1:06 AM on March 14 [13 favorites]

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I read Three Minutes for a Dog a few years ago; a remarkable book about a remarkable life.
posted by terretu at 2:16 AM on March 14

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posted by eirias at 2:28 AM on March 14

I have only bitter, sarcastic things to add along the lines of, isn't it nice that we're all freely living our lives normally now that the pandemic is over? And there's so much immunity covid is no longer a threat? I mean, the masks and lockdowns, so damaging to everyone! And now we don't have to live in fear, thankfully. Normalcy!

I'm sure that was much comfort to him.
posted by Dashy at 3:34 AM on March 14 [14 favorites]

For those who, like me, were wondering how he could possibly have learned to breathe given his paralysis, I found this explanation of glossopharyngeal breathing.
posted by jacquilynne at 8:17 AM on March 14 [1 favorite]

'Surely, a man has but one death. That death may be as heavy as Mount Tai or as light as a goose feather. It is how he uses that death that makes all the difference.'

- Sima Qian

Paul Alexander did not want to be an object lesson on the dangers of the ongoing pandemic. His death was heavy, but so many people dismiss it because of his severe disabilities. Ablebodied people often don't understand that people with severe disabilities still value their lives, even when no one else does.

Rest in power, Paul Alexander.
posted by Soliloquy at 9:16 AM on March 14 [9 favorites]

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posted by tumbling at 9:23 AM on March 14

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posted by kinnakeet at 10:20 AM on March 14

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posted by kitten kaboodle at 10:29 AM on March 14

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posted by skycrashesdown at 10:48 AM on March 14

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posted by MonsieurPEB at 10:52 AM on March 14

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posted by sencha at 11:39 AM on March 14

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posted by filtergik at 1:26 PM on March 14

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posted by May Kasahara at 2:19 PM on March 14

When my father was conceived in 1918 he had five older brothers, when he was born in 1919 he had one older brother, Spanish flu. In 1920 my father contracted polio and used crutches his entire, very successful life, he lived to be 85..
Polio RIP, FFS vaccinate
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posted by hortense at 2:50 PM on March 14 [5 favorites]

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posted by pipstar at 4:43 PM on March 14

People saying he definitely died of COVID seem to be out ahead of the established facts, at least as of right now (may change). Media indicates cause of death is not known. He did contract COVID last month, but he was also a 78-year-old quadriplegic dependent on mechanical ventilation--a fragile state to be in, period.

As someone who has read his older brother's autopsy report I can tell you that there are sometimes never really clear and easy facts about what killed someone. My older brother probably had covid but was untested (testing wasn't widely available in Canada at that point). He was really sick two weeks before his death in 2021 but had recovered. The night before he died he was found unconscious in a park at night (he went for after dark walks during the pandemic). When he called my mom from the ER he said he had a fall and broke his arm/shoulder. He tested negative for covid at this point. Later that night he fell out of the hospital bed. They put him back in the bed and then he had a heart attack and despite being in a hospital they couldn't revive him and he died.

What killed him? The autopsy report says atherosclerosis. Is that the answer though? It is an answer but it is a clearly incomplete answer and the truth is his cause of death will always be a very incomplete picture. What caused his first fall? What cause him to fall out of the hospital bed? What caused him to have a heart attack at that particular moment? Fall trauma, pain medications, post-covid issues, ice or whatever else contributed to his initial fall? It's complex and unknowable. There is no Jack Klugman working his case and tidying everything up to single answer.
posted by srboisvert at 5:09 PM on March 14 [3 favorites]

I read this 2020 Guardian article recently, then saw this post. I'm in awe of his drive to live and make his life meaningful. Sometimes I keep articles open in my browser to remind me of ways to approach life, this is one.

I'm old, and knew people harmed by polio; it makes me passionate about the value of vaccination.
posted by theora55 at 9:48 AM on March 15 [3 favorites]

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posted by JoeXIII007 at 11:16 AM on March 15

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posted by smangosbubbles at 2:36 PM on March 17