It is worth saying a few things about his illness, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, as it is not one that is often in the public eye.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a part of the group of neurodegenerative disorders known as motor neuron disease, where the nerve cells which control movement in the spinal cord and related central nervous anatomy die off, replaced by scar like tissue.
Based on the Fourth edition of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation page 1041 by Chan et. al.
"Onset of ALS is insidious and commonly presents with painless asymmetric limb weakness. ALS most often afflicts people between 40 and 60 years of age with a mean age of onset of 58 years. Five percent of cases have onset before age 30. Men are affected more commonly than women with a ratio of 1.5:1.0. The worldwide prevalence is 5 to 7/100,000, making ALS one of the most common neuromuscular diseases in the world."
Based on the 17th Edition of the Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine page 2573 by Fauci et. al., the section on "Epidemiology":
"The illness is relatively progressive, leading to death from respiratory paralysis: the median survival is from 3 - 5 years. There are very rare reports of stabilization or even regression of ALS. In most societies there is an incidence of 1 - 3 per 100,000 and a prevalence of 3 - 5 per 100,000" and
"Epidemiologic studies have incriminated risk factors for this disease including exposure to pesticides and insecticides, smoking and, in one report, service in the military. While ALS is overwhelmingly a sporadic disorder, some 5- 10% of cases are inherited as an autosomal dominant trait."
According to
Wikipedia, Hawkings was diagnosed at the age of 21. He did indeed outlive the usual prognosis given to people with this diagnosis. Fortunately for us he was able to contribute to theoretical physics and cosmology for a further nearly half century, 40 more years than what would have been expected.
His brilliance is of course is as uncommon as the prognosis of
his ALS.
I wish him well in his recovery.
Murat