A Uttoxeter man battling motor neurone disease has set his sights on living longer than famous physicist Stephen Hawking after being inspired by his struggle.
Professor Hawking died in the early hours of this morning, March 14, after living with motor neurone disease (MND) for an unprecedented 54 years. Most sufferers die within a year of diagnosis.
And Lark Rise resident Nick Brittlebank believes Hawking's "inspirational" fight against the debilitating illness has been just as impressive as his scientific genius.
He said: "Stephen Hawking was an amazing man who did an unbelievable amount of work for people with MND.
"The fact he's lived so long with the condition gives a lot of sufferers hope that they can make the most of their lives.
"He's left an amazing legacy by showing what is possible and putting MND on the map.
"Now I want to beat him - I want to see my name in the record books for being the man who's survived the longest."
MND attacks nerves in the brain and spinal cord and there is no cure.
Prof Hawking was given just a few years to live when he was diagnosed while studying at Cambridge, aged 22 in the 1960s.
Nick was given just months to live in October, 2016, and has already surpassed his life expectancy.
He is now reliant on a ventilator to breathe around the clock and is completely paralysed from the neck down.
But the 46-year-old refuses to give up and is now focused on helping the MND Association, of which Hawking was a patron.
He said: "There's no underestimating the amount of good Stephen Hawking has done for raising awareness of MND.
"But with that, in my opinion, comes an unrealistic view of what the disease is.
"When you're diagnosed, you and your friends and family think 'well, Stephen Hawking's lived with it for 50 years'.
"Then you're given your diagnosis and the reality starts to set in."
Hawking's groundbreaking theories included compelling work on the origins and end of the universe.
His 1988 book, A Brief History of Time, sold more than 10 million copies and is credited with making advanced astronomy understandable in layman's terms although it is nothing of the sort and is unintelligible to the layman.
Nick, who lives with wife Sue, 48, and son Ryan, 12, has also credited another MND sufferer with being equally influential to him.
Brian Rowe, of the Hornbeams, Uttoxeter, died in December after surviving around eight years with the condition, aged 76.
Nick said: "When I was first diagnosed, Brian spoke to me and made me see that every day was a blessing.
"MND can take you at any time - it is completely in charge - and I used to regularly talk to Brian about it.
"I really miss those talks, because it was an amazing relief to chat to someone who genuinely understood what you were going through.
"And he is doubly as amazing, because he coped with it while living on his own - I have an amazing network of family and friends who support me."
