Not a bit surprising

CNN.com reports that Stephen Hawking is 'very ill', as if having ALS wasn't enough to qualify:

Scientist and author Stephen Hawking is "very ill" and has been hospitalized, according to Cambridge University, where he is a professor. Hawking, 67, is one of the world's most famous physicists and also a cosmologist, astronomer, and mathematician. Hawking has Lou Gehrig's Disease (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, or ALS), which is usually fatal after three years. Hawking has survived for more than 40 years since his diagnosis.
On his website, Hawking has written about living with ALS: "I try to lead as normal a life as possible, and not think about my condition, or regret the things it prevents me from doing, which are not that many," he wrote. He added: "I have been lucky, that my condition has progressed more slowly than is often the case. But it shows that one need not lose hope."
Hawking has been married twice. His website says he has three children and one grandchild. Hawking was born on what turned out to be an auspicious date: 8 January 1942, the 300th anniversary of the death of astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei.
A Cambridge University spokesman told CNN: "Professor Hawking is very ill and has been taken by ambulance to Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge."
Professor Peter Haynes, head of the university's department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, said: "Professor Hawking is a remarkable colleague; we all hope he will be amongst us again soon."
Hawking has guest-starred, as himself, on Star Trek: The Next Generation and The Simpsons. He also said, if he had the choice of meeting Sir Isaac Newton or Marilyn Monroe, his choice would be Marilyn.

Rico says the little guy has, in addition to a tremendous brain, a great heart and a hell of a sense of humor.
While we're making ALS jokes (okay, we weren't, but now we are) what were the odds of Lou Gehrig contracting Lou Gehrig's Disease?