Man Who's Lived Inside Iron Lung For Over 65 Years Was Forbidden From Marrying His Fiancee

A man who has spent more than 65 years living in an iron lung has opened up about the reasons he was denied the chance to wed his fiancée.

Paul Alexander suffered polio, an infectious condition that can result in paralysis when he was six years old.

Credit: Mitch Summers/ YouTube

He was transported to the hospital, where he underwent an emergency tracheotomy. 

Nevertheless, because his diaphragm was unable to work normally, he was left paralyzed from the neck down and required an iron lung machine to help him breathe.

Paul revealed the impact that living in a positive-pressure ventilator has had on his love relationships more than 65 years later, at the age of 77.

Credit: Mitch Summers/ YouTube

At the age of 21, Paul graduated from high school and enrolled at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Paul met Claire while he was a student at the university, and the two eventually became engaged.

Claire's mother disapproved of the relationship, so when Paul called Claire one day, Claire's mother answered the phone and forbade him from marrying her daughter and prohibited him from ever speaking to her again.

Credit: Mitch Summers/ YouTube

Paul told The Guardian: "Took years to heal from that."

Paul may not have found love since Claire, but according to his brother Phil, he is as close as you can get to it in his relationship with Kathy.

Once Paul completed law school, Kathy Gaines became his carer, or his "arms and legs."

Credit: Mitch Summers/ YouTube

Gaines, who has been Paul's carer for more than 30 years, is legally blind due to type 1 diabetes, yet despite this, she visited Paul every day during his five-month stay in the hospital in 2019 and has since followed him wherever he has gone to continue seeing him every day.

Paul said that he and Kathy "grew together." 

"She stretched herself over as many things as I needed," he added.

Credit: Mitch Summers/ YouTube

His brother Phil noted: "Paul has always been aggressive about things that he wants and needs around other people. He’s pretty demanding.”

"But Kathy is more demanding than he is. They’ve had their moments, but they always work it out."

Paul may not have wed Claire, but he made the following decision, according to News Rebeat: 

"You can actually do anything, regardless of where you come from, your background, or the challenges you may face."

"You just have to turn your heart to it and work hard...”

"My story is an example of why your past and even obstacles don’t need to define your future."