Wittgenstein began work on his final manuscript, MS 177, on 25 April 1951. It was his 62nd birthday on 26 April. He went for a walk the next afternoon, and wrote his last entry that day, 27 April. That evening, he became very ill; when his doctor told him he might live only a few days, he reportedly replied, “Good!”. Joan stayed with him throughout that night, and just before losing consciousness for the last time on 28 April, he told her: “Tell them I’ve had a wonderful life.” Norman Malcolm describes this as a “strangely moving utterance”.