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Aug 31, 2011

"He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how." --Friedrich Nietzsche

The Doctor Who Would Not Give Up

Dr. Richard Olney is racing to finish what is almost certain to be his last research paper. The 63-year-old neurologist is considered one of the country's top clinical specialists for ALS, popularly known as Lou Gehrig's disease. ALS is also the reason Olney is in a hurry to finish his paper: He was diagnosed with it in 2004 and now has almost no muscle function left. But Olney's most enduring contribution to the ALS field may have less to do with the details of his final study than the commitment he has shown, relentlessly attacking a disease that will soon kill him. It's a lesson of persistence and personal bravery that clearly has impressed his own doctors. "I think about it every day," Lomen-Hoerth said. "How he continues to work, his will to work." This inspiring article shares more.