Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking reveals in a new film that he was so close to the brink of death when writing “A Brief History of Time” that doctors even offered to cut off his life support, The Times reported on July 28 (KST).
"It was very serious and I was put into a drug-induced coma and then on a life-support machine. The doctors thought I was so far gone that they offered [his first wife] Jane [the option] to turn off the machine," Hawking said.
Hawking has suffered from motor neuron disease for 50 years, unusually long for a condition that kills most victims in five years. The disease destroys nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord, causing progressive weakness and muscle degradation.
Having contracted a chest infection that developed into pneumonia while on a trip to Switzerland in 1985, Hawking, 71, may have never finished the bestseller that put his name on the map had it not been for his first wife.
In the documentary, entitled "Hawking," Jane says she turned down the doctors' offer and insisted that Hawking be taken back to Cambridge.
"But slowly, the drugs worked, though a small incision in my throat robbed me of my ability to talk," Hawking says. "I was then put on a ventilator and hopes of finishing my book seemed over."
Since then, Hawking has made numerous attempts to overcome the challenges posed by his lack of voice. Initially, he chose letters on a spelling card by raising his eyebrow. Now, the only way Hawking can write is by flexing his cheek muscle to move the cursor.
“I fear one day I will lose this muscle. I would also like to be able to speak more quickly and hope this current generation of software experts can speed up my communication,” Hawking says.
Under the 24-hour care of nurses, Hawking managed to finish his book by 1987, although Jane admits the couple was no longer privy to privacy.
"They came into our house and it was life-changing," Jane says. "The house was no longer home as there was no privacy."
Hawking and Jane reveal in the film how their marriage got sucked into a "black hole" of distress after the book's success brought them fame and fortune.
The fame, illness, and 24-hour nursing put a strain on the couple's marriage, which ended in a divorce in 1995. The same year, Hawking got remarried to Elaine Mason, one of his nurses. The two got divorced in 2006.
Despite his physical disabilities and the imminent possibility of death, Hawking has many dreams waiting to be fulfilled. “I have often dreamt of flying through space,” he says.
He does not allow the possibility of death impede his everyday life. “Everyday could be the last day and, though I’m 71 now, I go to work every day,” Hawking says. “I have a desire to make the most of every minute.”