There are tens of thousands of remarkable people and many more admirable people, but not so many who are both remarkable and admirable. Toss in heroic, and you might come up with Stephen Hawking. Hawking has lived with Lou Gehrig's disease for around 40 years, which is incredible in and of itself. But what he's done is even more amazing.
So we're sorry to hear that he's apparently quite seriously ill today, and hope for the best. Every parent who points to an athlete as a role model should also point to Hawking. His life has been astonishing and brilliant. Let's hope it lasts a good bit longer still.