A man who has spent the majority of the past 65 years inside an iron lung has been surprised with $10,000. Paul Alexander, 75, was left paralyzed after contracting polio when he was just six years old in 1952, and he is now one of the last people left alive who relies on an iron lung to help him breathe, <a href="https://www.globalcitizen.org/es/content/polio-survivor-iron-lung/">Global Citizen</a> reports. He spends <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gplA6pq9cOs">nearly all day inside</a> his iron lung and can only leave the device for a few hours at a time. Alexander went viral when a short documentary about his story was made by YouTuber Mitch Summers earlier this year. Watch the original short documentary below:  [[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xowUq7JgFeQ]] In the documentary, Summers explained that Alexander caught polio during one of history's worst outbreaks of the disease, likening the situation to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Pictured below is a room full of polio patients during a polio outbreak in California. <img class="wp-image-1263122447 size-full" src="https://img.vt.co/2021/08/Iron-Lung-1.jpg" alt="Polio patients." width="759" height="509" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: Alamy / Everett Collection Historical]] Alexander said that despite his disability, he went onto achieve his dreams of becoming a lawyer, and he even wrote a memoir about his life in an iron lung using a pen attached to a stick. He said that he was sharing his story because he wanted to inspire other people to follow their dreams. Summers has now returned after a number of people inspired by Alexander's story raised money for him. "It costs a lot of money because I need care 24 hours a day," Alexander said of life in an iron lung. Summers said: "Paul, I have some news for you. Your dream has come true - but in a way, a little bit bigger. "So now thousands of people, I'm talking millions and millions and millions of people you inspire. How does that make you feel?" Watch Paul get surprised with $10,000 below:  [[youtubewidget||https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he4zla4SsM4]] Alexander said in response: "It's been phenomenal Mitch and I thank God for it." Summers then shared a number of YouTube comments from people who were touched by his story, which has received over 21 million views. He continues: "Listen Paul, I've got something for you. In this envelope is $10,000 cash. Use it however you like." Summers then jokes that Alexander shouldn't spend the money all in one place. He goes on: "The outpouring of support from all the people - from the GoFundMe, from the video, from everything - was just unimaginable. You've touched my life, thousands of people's lives, millions of people's lives. And I want this to go to you." A visibly emotional Alexander says that he can't believe it and describes the outpouring of kindness from strangers as "unbelievable." <h6>Featured image credit: Alamy / Ilene MacDonald</h6>

Man who's spent most of the last 65 years locked in machine is surprised with $10,000

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