Man who lived in iron lung for 70 years until his death answered hugely common question on how he ‘went to toilet’

Paul Alexander’s life redefined what it means to be confined yet free. For 72 years, his world existed within the curved steel walls of an iron lung, a relic from the polio era that became both his prison and his lifeline.

Struck by the disease at six years old, he faced a reality where even breathing required mechanical assistance, where every basic human function became a logistical puzzle to solve.

Yet this man – paralyzed from the neck down, dependent on a machine to fill his lungs with air – earned law degrees, practiced in courtrooms, wrote a memoir, and became an internet sensation. His secret? A stubborn refusal to accept limitations.

He developed “frog breathing,” gulping air like an amphibian to speak without the machine. He used a mouth-held stick to painstakingly type his book, one careful tap at a time.

When curious followers inevitably asked about life’s most practical challenges – how does one use the bathroom while encased in metal? – Paul answered with characteristic wit. “The same way as in hospitals,” he’d chuckle, explaining the bedpans and portable toilets that formed part of his routine. His humor about having “three pans” because he loved food too much revealed a man who found joy where others might see only hardship.

At just five feet tall, his body forever frozen in childhood proportions by the disease that struck him down, Paul became a giant in spirit. His TikTok presence wasn’t about pity – it was a masterclass in living fully within constraints. When he passed last March at 78, he left behind more than just an extraordinary medical case; he left a blueprint for transforming apparent impossibilities into mere inconveniences.

Paul’s iron lung didn’t define him. It was simply the unlikely cocoon from which emerged one of life’s most remarkable butterflies – proving that even when the body is confined, the human spirit can soar to unimaginable heights. His legacy whispers to us all: your circumstances may shape you, but they need not limit you.