Stephen Hillenburg Diagnosed with ALS

[The Red Lizard]

Holy actual crap, that's terrible!

This is not good at all. :( Poor Stephen.

 

[Master WhoBruh]

This is just horrible. I just hope his final days will be special. I'm deeply sorry for him. :(

 

[Krystalite]

Oh god no, oh god no, oh god no.....

I am at a loss for all words right now...

 

[crushingmayhem]

So sad, ALS is a terrible disease. I appreciate all the work he's done for the site over the years. To hear this news is just heartbreaking for SB fans.

 

[CartoonJazzLover]

I'm spreading this news everywhere (including real life, when I get back from spring break, I will notify my friends at college), so if you have me in these accounts (In Twitter I just retweeted the post that Variety posted):

https://www.instagram.com/p/BRmbaYJlm8l/?taken-by=cartoonjazzlover
http://fas1997.deviantart.com/art/Sad-news-for-SpongeBob-Fans-668845918

 

[EmployeeAMillion]

Oh geez. I wasn't expecting this.

Steven, if you read this, let me say some words. Not only did you create one of the greatest fictional characters of the past 20 years, but you inspired a generation of millennials to make friends, have fun, and find the best in everybody. People usually say that after certain people leave us, the quality of a show tends to go downhill, but I firmly believe that SpongeBob's last episodes are around the corner. Make them as good as you possibly can, and have a great time on this Earth while you still can.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XUcPpu-T2vc

 

[CakeCup]

I was just looking at the title and I think that I teared up a bit. I gotta say, this is a shocker to me. My prayers go out to both Stephen Hillenburg and his family, and I hope that he is still well enough to continue working on the show

 

[JerryTheSnail]

I'm completely speechless......this is horrible news.

 

[mandythescientist17]

https://twitter.com/VincentWaller72/status/841457959238426624

Yeah...I think it's safe to say that this is not a hoax.

 

[The Real Nostalgia Critic]

Guys, Variety is a legitimate news source. I am afraid that this article is real.

I know I don't really post on the SpongeBob forum much and my interest for this show is starting to dwindle, but dang, this just made me feel heartbroken. I grew up with this show. I was born the year it was created. It was the complete basis of my childhood. It has changed my whole life and the way I live. I'm sure that's how most of you guys feel too. And well, hearing about this news just hits me in the heart so much. The man who was responsible for the show that shaped my childhood, Stephen Hillenburg, getting a terminal disease that he might not recover from. It just makes me really, really, really sad hearing news about this. If he dies, I feel like a part of my childhood will die along with it.

But at least he'll still have this show and the people who work on it to carry on his legacy. Even if he does die, his legacy will still carry on in SpongeBob.

https://www.sbmania.net/pictures.php?img=ocPoBmKpH2sbkslisksDbN5bNDeA3aoOFrSgh1RaweA%3D

 

[Flats]

My god, I am tearing up right now. I genuinely do not believe I would be the person I am today without Mr. Hillenburg's contribution to the world. I can't even get my thoughts together.

I just want to extend my condolences to the Spongebob cast and crew, Mr. Hillenburg, his friends and his family. I just want to thank him and everyone on the show for years of spreading joy. If I can in my life create even a small fraction of the amount of smiles that Stephen Hillenburg has and will continue to in his, I will count it as a life damn well lived.

Thank you, Mr. Hillenburg. Neptune bless.

 

[spongedude]

Dang. That's tough news for anyone. I'm not exactly sure what the timetable is for ALS patients nowadays, but I'm not necessarily afraid of him passing in the immediate future. In fact, with his resources, I'm sure he'll be able to live relatively comfortably for as long as he desires, the physical and emotional toll notwithstanding.

I'll say this: He's in good company.

 

[CartoonJazzLover]

If you guys have Twitter, a lot of people had been very supportive to him that someone named @MisterSomeone13 created the hashtag #GetWellHillenburg. I had tweeted twice with the hashtag and had like and retweet almost every single tweet with it. Let's keep posting the hashtag and we should get it and Stephen Hillenburg's name trending. https://twitter.com/hashtag/getwellhillenburg?f=tweets&vertical=default&src=hash

 

[mandythescientist17]

Dang. That's tough news for anyone. I'm not exactly sure what the timetable is for ALS patients nowadays, but I'm not necessarily afraid of him passing in the immediate future. In fact, with his resources, I'm sure he'll be able to live relatively comfortably for as long as he desires, the physical and emotional toll notwithstanding.

I'll say this: He's in good company.

Lou_Gehrig.jpg

stephen-jane.jpg

Life expectancy is 2-5 years on average.

 

[BenPaz: Act Zero]

If you guys have Twitter, a lot of people had been very supportive to him that someone named @MisterSomeone13 created the hashtag #GetWellHillenburg. I had tweeted twice with the hashtag and had like and retweet almost every single tweet with it. Let's keep posting the hashtag and we should get it and Stephen Hillenburg's name trending. https://twitter.com/hashtag/getwellhillenburg?f=tweets&vertical=default&src=hash

maybe the hashtag shouldn't be GetWellHillenburg because a terminal illness never goes away

 

[Honest Slug]

Have there been any cases of people surviving terminal illnesses?

 

[More]

Oh god.

Stephen, if you're reading this, you have been not only a major inspiration for my own love for animation and my passionate love for drawing over the past years (I'm currently applying for further Art colleges to make that a reality), but for so many other great, hard-working people working on SpongeBob, and for so many other happy childhood memories. SpongeBob is so beloved in our culture that it's extremely hard to imagine it ever happening without your place in creating it. I'm so sorry that you have to suffer from a terminal illness.

Sorry, I'm just extremely sad right now... I just hope the last years of your life will be meaningful. :(

 

[MrColeslaw]

Seriously wasn't expecting this; sometimes, our brightest stars begin to dim too early.

Stephen, you won't see this, but I wanna thank you. You, along with some other creators, truly made me childhood magic, and the stories and characters you created over 10 years ago, will stick with me forever. At their core, all the SpongeBob characters are very much a part of us, whether it be SpongeBob's positive worldly outlook, Patrick's well-intentioned slow wits, or Squidward's joy of quiet and seclusion. Your characters have become a staple to the lives of thousands, and the ideals and hysterical jokes told by them shan't be forgetten, for decades to come. Your wonderful world, and it's characters, have inspired me in so many ways; I have created so many wonderful friends through SpongeBob, as well as being inspired to create my own world. My prayers go out to you and your family; and now, I leave you with a quote from when Jim Henson passed away; a quote that applies just as well here.

"It's a good thing there are people to do Jim Henson's job for him; he'll be with us, every time we watch The Muppets."

 

[mandythescientist17]

Have there been any cases of people surviving terminal illnesses?

I know Stephen Hawking is 75 and has been living with ALS since he was 21.

 

[spongedude]

If you guys have Twitter, a lot of people had been very supportive to him that someone named @MisterSomeone13 created the hashtag #GetWellHillenburg. I had tweeted twice with the hashtag and had like and retweet almost every single tweet with it. Let's keep posting the hashtag and we should get it and Stephen Hillenburg's name trending. https://twitter.com/hashtag/getwellhillenburg?f=tweets&vertical=default&src=hash

Not to be a party-pooper here, but ALS isn't something you can "get well" from. I know it's meant well by whoever is doing it, and I'm positive Stephen is an absolute realist about his condition, but I just worry that social media initiatives of this nature (and here I'm talking in general) allow people to kind of gloss over the reality of a bad situation. It's wonderful and important that fans show him all the love and support they wish, so long as we acknowledge that it cannot change his condition one bit.

We've had some interesting discussions on this board about mortality, centering around celebrities whom we've adored or beloved pets and family members who have passed. Some of you are probably young enough that you have never seriously thought about death, or had to encounter it in a meaningful and tangible way. Many of you, of course, have. My sentiments fall in line with a letter Lincoln once wrote to a young girl upon the death of her father:

Executive Mansion,
Washington, December 23, 1862.

Dear Fanny
It is with deep grief that I learn of the death of your kind and brave Father; and, especially, that it is affecting your young heart beyond what is common in such cases. In this sad world of ours, sorrow comes to all; and, to the young, it comes with bitterest agony, because it takes them unawares. The older have learned to ever expect it. I am anxious to afford some alleviation of your present distress. Perfect relief is not possible, except with time. You can not now realize that you will ever feel better. Is not this so? And yet it is a mistake. You are sure to be happy again. To know this, which is certainly true, will make you some less miserable now. I have had experience enough to know what I say; and you need only to believe it, to feel better at once. The memory of your dear Father, instead of an agony, will yet be a sad sweet feeling in your heart, of a purer, and holier sort than you have known before.

Please present my kind regards to your afflicted mother.

Your sincere friend,
A. Lincoln.

For my part though, I'm remiss to eulogize him like he's already dead (which, no offense, we seem to be doing a little bit here). I've got nothing but good will for Mr. Hillenburg, and I'm not calling anything for anyone. Nature has her own plans.

And you know what? He's 55 years old and he's lived a pretty fortunate life up until now. A lot of people would take that trade in an instant. :)