Being Stephen's carer was such a struggle, and it's a lonely job looking after a disabled person. Thinking back, I honestly wonder how I got through it. Jane Hawking More Quotes by Jane Hawking More Quotes From 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 Stephen, isn't it?' They told me that he had been in St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London having horrible tests and then had been diagnosed with an atypical form of a rare disease - motor neurone disease. Jane Hawking me friends old-friends coffee I don't think of my life as having two marriages; I think of it as a continuum. Jane Hawking my-life think life two I suppose I was still optimistic and unrealistic, and I just hoped we could keep going as we were. But no. That was not good enough for Stephen, so off he went. Those were hard times. They really were. But then, I suppose, divorce is always hard. Jane Hawking good keep-going not-good-enough hard When Stephen was first diagnosed, we weren't actually going out together, but I was already falling in love with him. He had beautiful eyes and this amazing sense of humour, so we were always laughing. Jane Hawking eyes together beautiful love I was born in Norwich, which I still regard as the most beautiful city in the world, despite the attempts by the Luftwaffe to destroy it in the Second World War. Jane Hawking city beautiful war world Gardening is one of my enduring, favourite, and most rewarding pastimes. Jane Hawking rewarding most gardening favourite Just because you can no longer have a physical relationship with someone doesn't mean you don't love them. Jane Hawking someone you love relationship The truth was, there were four partners in our marriage. Stephen and me, motor neurone disease, and physics. If you took out motor neurone disease, you are still left with physics. Jane Hawking me you marriage truth I felt very committed to Stephen, and I didn't think he could manage without me. I wanted him to carry on doing his amazing work, and I wanted the children to have a stable family behind them - so we just carried on. Jane Hawking me family work children The gas man came one day, and he said, 'What does your husband do?' so I told him, and he said, 'What's the use of that?' He had a point, but on the other hand, I firmly believed in Stephen and his brilliance. I encouraged him to popularise his science just because the gas man had been so insulting. Jane Hawking day man husband science When I was playing with the children, I felt I ought to be working, and when I was working, I felt I ought to be playing with the children. Jane Hawking playing working felt children When I was little, I used to spend a lot of time making up stories when I was put to bed. Jane Hawking up used bed time I felt it was terribly important, for Stephen and the children, to keep the family together. Jane Hawking family important together children I understood Stephen's point of view because if you had been given a death sentence at the age of 21, would you find it easy to believe in a loving God? Also, Stephen's work was taking him into the depths of the universe, and it was, I thought, fairly understandable that there wasn't much room for God in his equations. Jane Hawking age god work death I was always extremely determined, but I was also quite timid. Jane Hawking timid quite always determined Living here in Cambridge, you had to have an identity. It was not enough to be a wife. So I did a Ph.D. in medieval Spanish poetry. Jane Hawking you wife poetry identity Of course I don't think any of the past will go away. The thing is, with me and Stephen, for many years, I put every spoon of food into his mouth, dressed him, and bathed him. You do not forget that experience. Jane Hawking me you experience food Stephen's belief was that if you were free to do your absolute best work, you would be rewarded. My belief was that if you gave all of yourself to what you believed was right, then that would be enough. Jane Hawking yourself best you work We would look up at the night sky together, and although Stephen wasn't actually very good at detecting constellations, he would tell me about the expanding universe and the possibility of it contracting again and describe a star collapsing in on itself to form a black hole in a way that was quite easy to understand. Jane Hawking good me together sky I couldn't let him die; I was the agent of life for Stephen. Jane Hawking agent die him life
