2024-04-01 09:56:25
After Paul Alexander contracted polio at the age of six, he had to spend the rest of his life in an “iron lung”. But that didn’t stop him from meeting the woman of his dreams.
Paul was on a ventilator – which he called his cocoon or coffin – for over 70 years. However, like a butterfly, the man from the Texas city of Dallas underwent a metamorphosis.
“I decided that I will not give up. I insisted on having a life,” the man told Health Day. Despite having to lie on an iron ventilator the whole time, Paul fell in love not once, but twice in his life. But after a painful breakup that left Paul feeling hopeless, blind Kathy became his salvation.
This story begins during Paul’s college years, when he first saw a young lady named Claire at the age of 21. It was love at first sight, and the Southern Methodist University student soon proposed despite not being able to get down on one knee. To Paul’s delight, Claire answered, “Yes.”
While the happy fiancé proudly showed off her ring to everyone, Claire’s mother disapproved of the marriage due to her future son-in-law’s illness. One day, Paul called Claire, hoping to talk to his chosen one.
But Claire’s mother picked up the phone, saying he would never marry her daughter. At the end of the conversation, she told Paul to never speak to Claire again.
“It took me years to come to terms with it,” said the man, who transferred to the University of Texas at Austin after the incident. Paul never got married, but eventually he found his soul mate – Kathy Gaines.
Life was not easy for Kathy, who has type 1 diabetes. As a result of the disease, the woman’s eyesight deteriorated significantly and she could not drive.
But after meeting Paul, she became his “hands and feet” and he became her eyes. Kathy spent the last three decades of Paul’s life by his side. “Kathy and I grew up together…She took care of my every need,” Paul said.
Although Kathy lost her sight, she recognized Paul immediately. She shaved his beard, changed his bed sheets, trimmed his toenails and was always there when Paul went out shopping.
Although Paul and Kathy never had a romantic relationship, his brother Phil said they were like husband and wife: “Paul always fought fiercely with others for the things he wanted. He was demanding. But Kathy is even more demanding. Even though they had an argument every now and then, they always found a solution.”
Paul was looking for solutions all his life. He eventually fulfilled his dream and became a lawyer and writer. in 2020 he wrote the memoir Three Minutes for a Dog. The name is related to one man’s memory: he once breathed for 180 seconds without the help of his “iron lung” to get a puppy named Ginger.
In his book, Paul wrote: “It doesn’t matter where you come from, what you’ve experienced, and what challenges you face. You really can do anything. You just have to put your mind to it and work hard.”
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2024-04-01 09:56:25