The Man Who Never Gave Up There are many people in the world who do well in school and on tests and are considered very intelligent people. Stephen Hawking is an example of a more than intelligent man; he's a genius. He is one of the most intelligent men to live in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries and has a disease that is usually fatal in two to five years. Living with this disease led Stephen Hawking to change his lifestyle to overcome this harmful disease. Stephen Hawking overcame amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) by living a life in an advanced wheelchair, continuing and focusing his thinking on many different scientific advances, and expressing his thoughts by writing books and giving speeches around the world. Stephen Hawking was able to work through ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease, using an advanced wheelchair (Hawking 1). This disease has taken away many basic functions that people use in life. This disease caused severe damage to Hawking's nervous system, taking away his ability to move all his muscles except about three fingers and his eyes (Stephen Hawking). This disease not only took away his physical movement, but also took away his ability to speak. The disease progressed most rapidly in the first two years that Hawking was ill. The effects of ALS never go away, but Stephen Hawking has moved on with life and accepted the fact that he has it. After contracting ALS, Hawking got a wheelchair made especially for him, which allowed him to move and talk thanks to the movements of the muscles he had. This was an important development and helped Steven a lot in bringing normality back to his life. This chair helped him overcome the disease, ALS, giving him the ability to move forward with his life in the most re...... middle of paper ...... talk about his research because he can show it to millions of people of people at the same time. Stephen Hawking, one of the smartest men in the world, has overcome his disability in many ways. He used this to his advantage by not having to lecture and instead doing research and moved on with life. Even though Hawking has ALS, he provides the world with some of the most amazing theories we've ever seen. They provide closure to some of the world's most frequently asked questions and give us insights into space. Stephen Hawking shows us the true definition of perseverance, every day, when at seventy-two years old, suffering from ALS, he does research. He doesn't let his disability slow him down. As Stephen Hawking once said “Remember to look at the stars and not at your feet. Never give up on work. Work gives you meaning and purpose and life without it is empty” (Stephen Hawking).