--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Thirty years ago I was diagnosed with…" description: "\"Thirty years ago I was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, and given two and a half years to live. I have always wondered how they could be so precis..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5b/stephen-hawking-389_disease_thirty-years-ago-i-was-diagnosed-with-mo_1267934.jpg" --- # Thirty years ago I was diagnosed with motor neurone… ![“Thirty years ago I was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, and given two and a half years to live. I have always wondered how they could be so precise about the half.” quote by Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5b/stephen-hawking-389_disease_thirty-years-ago-i-was-diagnosed-with-mo_1267934.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5b/stephen-hawking-389_disease_thirty-years-ago-i-was-diagnosed-with-mo_1267934.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5b/stephen-hawking-389_disease_thirty-years-ago-i-was-diagnosed-with-mo_1267934.jpg) > “Thirty years ago I was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, and given two and a half years to live. I have always wondered how they could be so precise about the half.” [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Facing a terminal diagnosis, the speaker reflects on the unsettling precision of medical prognoses and the emotional impact of confronting limited time. **In simple terms:** Medical predictions can feel oddly exact, causing distress. Key Takeaway Accept uncertainty and focus on meaningful actions. Themes mortality medicine psychology Mood reflective somber Type personal philosophical When to use this quote - patient counseling - caregiver support - end‑of‑life planning Key Concepts prognosis existential anxiety resilience Questions to Reflect On - How do you cope with uncertain futures? - What role does hope play in confronting prognosis? A Different Perspective Predictions are probabilistic, not certain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ago Diagnosed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ago-diagnosed-4053084/) [Diagnosed Motor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/diagnosed-motor-4053083/) [Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disease/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [Half a year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-a-year/) [Half Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half-years-264374/) [Motor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/motor/) [Neurone Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neurone-disease-3375669/) [Precise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/precise/) [Thirty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirty/) [Thirty years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thirty-years/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-ago/) ## Related quotes > [I don't have much positive to say about motor neurone disease. 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If you took out motor neurone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hawking/the-truth-was-there-were-four-partners-in-our-marriage-stephen-and-me/) [Jane Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hawking/) > [I had scarcely met Stephen, and then one Saturday I met some old friends for coffee, and they were saying, 'Gosh it's terrible about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-hawking/i-had-scarcely-met-stephen-and-then-one-saturday-i-met-some-old/) [Jane Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-hawking/) > [The doctor who diagnosed me with ALS, or motor neuron disease, told me that it would kill me in two or three years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-doctor-who-diagnosed-me-with-als-or-motor-neuron-disease-told-me/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) ## More by Stephen Hawking > [The doctor who diagnosed me with ALS, or motor neuron disease, told me that it would kill me in two or three years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-doctor-who-diagnosed-me-with-als-or-motor-neuron-disease-told-me/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [We are the product of quantum fluctuations in the very early universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/we-are-the-product-of-quantum-fluctuations-in-the-very-early-universe/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [The human race does not have a very good record of intelligent behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/the-human-race-does-not-have-a-very-good-record-of-intelligent/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“We have finally found something that doesn’t have a cause, because there was no time for a cause to exist in. 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Science will win…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/there-is-a-fundamental-difference-between-religion-which-is-based-on/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“In the eighteenth century, philosophers considered the whole of human knowledge, including science, to be their field and discussed questions such as: Did the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/in-the-eighteenth-century-philosophers-considered-the-whole-of-human/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [A model is a good model if first it interprets a wide range of observations in terms of a simple and elegant model, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hawking/a-model-is-a-good-model-if-first-it-interprets-a-wide-range-of/) [Stephen Hawking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hawking/) > [“Empedocles noticed that if you cover the neck before you immerse it, a clepsydra does not fill. 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