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View Full Version : Stephen Hawking hospitalized, reported very ill


Pus$y Galore
04-20-2009, 11:38 AM
Please say a prayer for Stephen. This could be very dangerous for him since he cannot move. Let's hope he beats this thing and is better soon.



LONDON – Famed mathematician Stephen Hawking has been rushed to a hospital and is seriously ill, Cambridge University said Monday.

The university said Hawking has been fighting a chest infection for several weeks, and was being treated at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, the university city north of London.

"Professor Hawking is very ill," said Gregory Hayman, the university's head of communications. "He is undergoing tests. He has been unwell for a couple of weeks."

Hawking, 67, gained renown for his work on black holes, and has remained active despite being diagnosed at 21 with motor neurone disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), an incurable degenerative disease.

For some years, Hawking has been almost entirely paralyzed, and he communicates through an electronic voice synthesizer activated by his fingers.

"Professor Hawking is a remarkable colleague. We all hope he will be amongst us again soon," said Professor Peter Haynes, head of the university's Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics.

Hawking had canceled an appearance at Arizona State University on April 6 because of his illness.

He announced last year that he would step down from his post as Lucasian Professor of Mathematics, a title once held by the great 18th century physicist Isaac Newton, and the end of this academic year. However, the university said Hawking intended to continue working as Emeritus Lucasian Professor of Mathematics.

JamesG
04-21-2009, 02:46 PM
Ailing Professor Hawking Expected To Make 'Full Recovery'
21 April 2009 9:20 AM, PDT

Celebrated scientist and author Professor Stephen Hawking is "comfortable" and expected to make a full recovery after he was admitted to a hospital in Cambridge, England with a mystery illness.

The wheelchair-bound 67-year-old, who has suffered Motor Neurone disease since the 1960s, was taken to the city's Addenbrooke's Hospital by ambulance on Monday, when he was said to be "very ill".

No further details about his ailment have been released to the press, but it's reported Hawking has been unwell for the past two weeks after cancelling an appearance at Arizona State University on 6 April due to a chest infection.

However, a spokesperson for Cambridge University, where he teaches, has now revealed Hawking's condition is improving.

The rep says, "Professor Hawking is being kept in for observation at Addenbrooke's Hospital this morning. He is comfortable and his family is looking forward to him making a full recovery."

Hawking, the writer of A Brief History of Time, is one of the longest surviving sufferers of the neurological condition. He is paralysed and can only speak using a voice synthesiser.

-IMDB News

Pus$y Galore
04-21-2009, 03:01 PM
That's fantastic news! Thanks for posting the update James - I hadn't seen anything on it today.

All I can figure is that they must have had to put him on a respirator the past couple of weeks to help his breathing. It's bad enough when you're body is paralyzed, but then to get something like pnemonia would be certain death without the aid of some breathing device for him.

I love this guy. What an incredible mind!!! And to get ALS at age 21 and to still be alive at 67 - this guy has beaten all odds imaginable. (Usually patients die within ten years of diagnosis).