The Man Who Never Gave Up: Stephen Hawking

The Man Who Never Gave Up

There are many people in the world that do well in school and on tests that are considered very smart people. Stephen Hawking is an example of a man who is more than smart; he is a genius. He is one of the smartest men to have lived in the twentieth and twenty-first century and he has a disease that usually is fatal in two to five years. Living with this disease caused Stephen Hawking to change his lifestyle to overcome this detrimental disease. Stephen Hawking overcame amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by living life in an advanced wheelchair, continuing and focusing his thought on many different scientific advancements, and by expressing his thoughts in writing books and giving speeches worldwide.

Stephen Hawking has been able to work through ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, by using an advanced wheelchair (Hawking 1). This disease has taken away many basic functions people use in life. This disease caused major damage to Hawking’s nervous system which took away his ability to move all muscles except for about three fingers and his eyes (Stephen Hawking). Not only did this disease take away his physical motion, it took away his ability to speak. The disease progressed most rapidly in the first two years Hawking was ill. The effects of ALS never wear off, but Stephen Hawking moved on with life and accepted the fact he had it. After developing ALS, Hawking obtained a wheelchair specifically made for him, that allowed him to move around and talk with the movements of the muscles he had. This was a major development and greatly helped Steven gain normality back into his life. This chair helped

him overcome the disease, ALS, by giving him the ability to move on with his life in the most re...

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... talk about his research because he can show it to millions of people at once.

Stephen Hawking, one of the smartest men in the world, has overcome his disability in many ways. He has used it to his advantage by not having to do lectures and doing research instead and he has moved on with life. Even though Hawking has ALS he provides the world with some of the most amazing theories we have ever seen. They provide closure to some of the world’s most asked questions and give us information about space. Stephen Hawking shows us the real definition of perseverance, everyday, when at seventy-two years old, with ALS, he does research. He does not let his disability slow him down. As Stephen Hawking once said “Remember to look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Never give up work. Work gives you meaning and purpose and life is empty without it” (Stephen Hawking).