[ad_1]
The family of renowned British physicist Stephen Hawking has donated his ventilator to help treat hospital patients with a new coronavirus, he said on Wednesday. Hawking died in 2018 at age 76 after a brilliant career dedicated to unlocking the secrets of the universe, despite a life-long battle with a severe form of motor neuron disease.
Her daughter Lucy said that the respirator she used was given to the Royal Papworth Hospital in Cambridge, eastern England, where she received medical care during her lifetime. “As a ventilated patient, Royal Papworth was incredibly important to my father and helped him through very difficult times,” he said.
“We realized that he would be at the forefront of the COVID-19 epidemic and we got in touch with some of our old friends to ask if we could help.” Hawking, who spent most of his life in a wheelchair and spoke using a computer voice synthesizer, had some equipment from the British State National Health Service. Her daughter said the device was returned after her death, but the academic was personally purchased by the Cambridge University academic and author of “A Brief History of Time”.
Royal Papworth Hospital has doubled its critical care capacity as a result of the outbreak, which has seen more than 17,300 deaths in Britain. Hawking’s ventilator has now been added to additional machines to assist more seriously ill patients after being overhauled by the hospital’s engineering department.
Papworth clinical director for respiratory medicine Mike Davies said they were grateful to the family for the donation. “We are now extremely busy caring for seriously ill patients with COVID-19 and the support we are receiving from patients, their families and the local community means a lot,” he added.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
Download The Devdiscourse
News app for the latest news.
[ad_2]
