Harold Camping, the Alameda man who has unsuccessfully predicted the rapture not once, but twice (and he has revised his May 21 prediction to October 21 after the rapture didn't occur on that date), has suffered a stroke.
The 89-year-old radio evangelist and president of the Oakland nonprofit Family Radio was taken by ambulance from his house Thursday night, a neighbor said, but his well-known, gravelly voice that led many believers to donate millions of dollars to his cause may never be the same.
"He had a stroke, it was on his right side," said the neighbor, who declined to give her name but said she and her husband helped and comforted Camping's wife, Shirley, as the drama unfolded Thursday night.
Her husband spoke again with Shirley Camping on Friday. "His speech appears to be a little bit slurred but otherwise he's OK," the neighbor said. "(Shirley) said he was doing good "... and the only thing that's affected is his speech."
-Inside Bay Area
As May 21 approached, Camping had to leave his house and check into a hotel with his wife because his phone was ringing off the hook and people were constantly knocking on his front door. So in addition to bringing in lots of money, his doomsaying also brought in a lot of unwelcome attention that apparently took a physical toll on him.
