Stephen Hawking's #IceBucketChallenge video

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Saturday, August 30, 2014
(YouTube, MND Assocation)
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We've seen a lot of touching videos of people with ALS and related motor neurone diseases joining in on the ice bucket challenge craze, and now we can add the most well-known MND patient to the list: Stephen Hawking.

Hawking has defied the odds, having been diagnosed with an MND almost 50 years ago, when he was given a life expectancy of two years. The famous physics researcher and professor thanked everyone who had nominated him, and then explained that, due to a recent bout of pneumonia, "It would not be wise to have a bucket of water poured over me."

Instead, Hawking's family completed the challenge for him, and Hawking graciously calls them gallant volunteers. Watch Hawking's speech and his family's ice water dousing below.

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The MNDA is an organization in the United Kingdom, where Hawking lives, that is similar to the ALSA in the United States.