More than anything else, Hawking himself would wish to downplay his disability and to give his full attention to science, for that is what is really important to him. Having come to terms with ALS and found someone in Jane with whom he could share his life on a purely personal level, he began to blossom. The couple became engaged, and the frequency of weekend visits increased. It was obvious to everyone that the two of them were truly happy and highly important to each other. Jane recalls, “I wanted to find some purpose to my existence, and I suppose I found it in the idea of looking after him. But we were in love." For Hawking, his engagement to Jane was probably the most important thing that had ever happened to him: it changed his life and gave him something to live for. Without the help of Jane he almost certainly would not have been able to carry on or had the will to do so. From this point on, his work went from strength to strength, and Sciama, his superior, began to believe that Hawking might, after all, manage to pull together the different thread of his PhD research. It was still touch and go, but a wonderful chance was just around the corner.