About
American polio survivor and author known for being the last remaining person living in an iron lung machine. He held the record for the longest amount of time living in an iron lung by the Guinness World Records. In 2020, he released a memoir titled Three Minutes for a Dog: My Life in an Iron Lung.
Before Fame
He became ill with polio in 1952, when he was 6-years-old. He attended both Southern Methodist University and the University of Texas. He earned his bachelor's degree from UT-Austin in 1978.
Trivia
He was the first person to graduate from a Dallas high school without physically being in attendance. He also attended university and studied law, despite living in a machine. He almost died while staying at Parkland Hospital as a child. It took him eight years to write his memoir.
Family Life
He was born and raised in Texas.
Associated With
John Haven Emerson was the inventor of the iron lung.
