I saw life of Stephen Hawking on Georgia Public TV the other night; what I learned, among many things, was that I cannot wait to see his full-length motion picture The Theory of Everything.

I also learned that he contracted ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) in his mid-twenties. He was supposed to be dead within four to five years of getting the disease. He wasn’t; he is now 71.

I have PLS (Primary Lateral Sclerosis) which is not fatal, nor is it particularly painful; it is, however, a distant ‘cousin’ of ALS.

PLS is brought on when only the upper motor neurons of one’s brain is involved. When the lower motor neurons are affected, individuals have progressive muscular bspinal and massive atrophy. And when the upper AND lower neutrons are affected, you are toast: you have it . . . ALS . . . such as Stephen Hawking has.

Why? Medical science wishes it knew!

Every morning, Hawking looks at himself in the mirror, as he has done for more than fifty years. “Is today the day I die?”he asks the image staring back at him.

He got his PhD from Oxford University in England 1975 and he finished his main book, which went on to sell over eight million copies, making Stephen Hawing a household name to recond with.

I do not have a PhD from anyplace, nor have I finished a book that has sold more than a million copies, not to mention eight million. Am I a genius? More truthful and to the point, were I referred to as an afcinado and perpetual racetrack winner (sRCASTICCLT ,of course)..

There only about 1,000 cases of ALS — and less than 700 people are patients of PLS — not exactly a national emergency, no matter how it’s sliced. hhave a solution or a cure?! Who cares? Nobod, except the loved ones or caregivers — or the victims themselevS.




Copyrigt 2014 by Robert A. Mills, all rights reserved, may not be published, nor re-written nor broadcast without author’s permission