Stephen Heywood
Stephen Heywood ( born April 13, 1969; † November 26, 2006 in Newton, Middlesex County, Massachusetts) was an American builder and self-taught architect who specialized in the renovation of old houses. In 1998 he was diagnosed with ALS. Two years before his death appeared a book with him as the main character, His Brother 's Keeper: A Story from the Edge of Medicine, by Pulitzer Prize winner Jonathan Weiner. Furthermore, in year of his death, a documentary So Much So Fast appeared, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.
Stephen Heywood acted as a kind of catalyst for ALS research, could be important where scientists collected and driven to develop effective treatments for ALS patients. He is survived by his wife, Wendy ( Stacy ) Heywood, a son, Alexander Stephen Heywood, two brothers, James Heywood and Benjamin Heywood, co-founder of the website for patients with ALS and other life changing illnesses PatientsLikeMe.com, and his parents, John Heywood, Sun Jae Professor of Mechanical Engineering, and Peggy ( Gilkerson ) Heywood.
Stephen lived with his wife and son until his death at the age of 37 years in Newton. He died in November 2006 after his ventilator was dissolved in the night.