In honor of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) awareness month, we would like to recognize one of our partners – the ALS Association and celebrate the life of Stephen Hawking.
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)
ALS is a motor neurone disease (MND) also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The condition is very rare – 5,000+ people are diagnosed with ALS per year, and 10% of cases are genetically inherited. The disease kills neurons controlling the muscles and the lack of firing to the muscles causes progressive muscle weakness. Some noted symptoms are the gradual prohibition of speech, swallowing, walking, grasping objects, moving, and breathing. There are four FDA-approved medicines on the market to treat ALS. Treatment can help with the ailments of the condition, but ALS is not curable. The average life expectancy is 2-5 years.
Stephen Hawking
Most people have been socialized with ALS via the life of Stephen Hawking and his story is noteworthy. Stephen Hawking was born on January 8th, 1942. Despite his family’s desires for him to study medicine, his studies began in Physics at the University College, Oxford, and he moved on to Cambridge to research cosmology – studying the universe as a whole. At Cambridge, Stephen met Jane Wilde who was studying French and Spanish studies in her undergrad.
When Stephen was 21 years old, he was diagnosed with the motor neurone disease – Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). Even with the diagnosis, he completed his Ph D. program and continued to court Jane Wilde. Later, Jane and Stephen were married at Trinity Hall in Cambridge in 1965. Post-doc, Stephen continued working for Cambridge as a research fellow and he later became a professional fellow. In 1974, he was inducted into the Royal Society and five years later he was named the Chair Professor of Mathematics. 
Marriage, Family, and Physics
The personal life of Hawkings is better described as a juggling act between medical challenges, Jane and his three children – Robert, Lucy, and Timothy, and physics. In a Guardian interview Jane described Stephen’s family as unsupportive – “They whispered about us and they undermined me.” When asked how she managed:
“There was no alternative to just carrying on. I felt very committed to Stephen, and I didn’t think he could manage without me. I wanted him to carry on doing his amazing work, and I wanted the children to have a stable family behind them – so we just carried on.”
Consequently, Jane’s mother suggested that she join the local choir, that was managed by Jonathan Jones. Jonathan recently widowed – Jane describes that the two connected in their loneliness — “We were both very lonely people, and then we found one another.” After a medical emergency that resulted in Stephen having a throat piece inserted – Stephen was limited to a letters-board for communication. With the birth of their third child, the Hawkings hired a nurse – Eliane Mason, the wife of Stephen’s speech- engineer. When Jane described life with Jonathan, she said, “We all lived in such harmony, and for so long, until the divorce and the disruption.” Jane and Stephen separated in 1990. Eliane later left her husband of 15 years and Stephen and Eliane wed in 1995 – the same year Jane and Stephen divorced.
Later Life
Eliane and Stephan were together from 1995 to 2006. The next generation of Hawkings prospered in their own regard. Eldest, Robert is a software engineer at Microsoft. Lucy is an English journalist and she co-wrote a series of children’s books with Stephen – the first was published in 2007. The youngest, Timothy studied Spanish and French language like Jane and is a loyalty executive for a famous toy firm named LEGO. In the later stages in Hawking’s life, he upheld appearances and continued to be best known for his studies on space, time, and black holes. The last phases of Stephen’s life were sustained with his legacy. Once being given a two-year sentence to live, Stephen passed away at the age of 76 years old on March 14th, 2018.
ALS Association – Vehicle Donations
Established in 1985, the ALS Association was established in 1985 and is still the only national non-profit organization fighting Lou Gehrig’s Disease on every front. The Association spearheads global research, nationwide networks, develops government partnerships, new treatments, and ultimately a cure. The mission of The ALS Association is to lead the fight to treat and cure ALS through global research and nationwide advocacy, while also empowering people with Lou Gehrig’s Disease and their families to live fuller lives by providing them with compassionate care and support. Help the ALS Association continue to save and impact the lives by donating your vehicle! On behalf of partners, we want to thank them for their efforts, generosity, and time.
*If you would like to donate to another charity – please check HERE for our other partners.*
At Advanced Remarketing Services (ARS), we help individuals donate cars to charity. We see every car donation as an opportunity to give back via cars for charity. ARS has streamlined a process for donating a car that is simple for donors, tax deductible, and is leading the industry with 80% of proceeds going to charity. On behalf of partner Special Olympics – Rhode Island, we want to thank our partners for their efforts, generosity, and time.
Sources
https://itisweird.com/biography/timothy-hawking/
http://www.alsa.org/about-als/
http://www.hawking.org.uk/publications.html
https://www.space.com/15923-stephen-hawking.html
https://www.newscientist.com/article/2053929-a-brief-history-of-stephen-hawking-a-legacy-of-paradox/
https://metro.co.uk/2018/03/14/need-know-elaine-mason-stephen-hawkings-second-wife-7386115/
https://int.cardonationwizard.com/als-association/info/car-donation-to-the-als-association.html