None of us, not even his family members, can understand what Stephen Hawking’s quality of life has been. We can be sure, however, that Stephen Hawking has significantly improved the quality of life of people who knew him, of people who shared the content of his studies and of all those people who were inspired by his paradigmatic life.
In his preface to the World Report on Disability, Hawking stated that “we have a moral duty to remove the barriers to participation, and to invest sufficient funding and expertise to unlock the vast potential of people with disabilities. Governments throughout the world can no longer overlook the hundreds of millions (namely 1 billion) of people with disabilities who are denied access to health, rehabilitation, support, education and employment, and never get the chance to shine“
These words have been spoken by an individual who has managed to “shine”, to show his extraordinary potential, only thanks to advanced technologies.
It would be desirable that his exemplary life will teach us to judge and treat the so-called “people with disabilities” not on the basis of their limited body functions and structures, but of their abilities and of the potential they can develop, for the benefit of everyone else.
Maria Gabriella Ceravolo
President of the UEMS PRM Board
Prof Ordinario di Medicina Fisica e Riabilitativa – UNIVPM