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Terry Pratchett has Alzheimers and the realities of it are inescapable. He has sight problems and is no longer able to type but he writes books using dictation program. Of course he is popular and rich and gets all the best care and his kind of work lets him still be able to create. He still publishes books. He still tours and meets with fans. There is a contest on his official facebook page (open worldwide) to win his new book if he likes your Ankh-Morpork shop name best.
However, the sickness slowly and unavoidably takes it's toll. It's hard to think about it without feeling it's wrong and unfair but that's how it is every time it happens to someone you care about. There is so many people who stuffer the same fate. And all their families who both get affected when they have to take care of them and when they live in danger of getting sick themselves. This is why it is so important that he admitted it and became face for fighting it. He knows he is able to pay for pills and he has means to make sure he can go on his own terms but not all people can. Here's a great interview with a woman who lost her both parents to the sickness and is part of that fight too.
But we still are barley able to help and every time I listen to a talk about a new discovery about how it works I'm painfully aware that it's still years before this knowledge becomes treatment. We know more but still cannot do much about it. But we are getting there with genetic disease so prions will get theirs ass kicked too one day.
Right now however Terry Pratchett has to start planning for the future and it was announced that his daughter Rhianna will take over Discworld. She's already pretty well known game writer - she worked on Heavenly Sword and Overlord and Tomb Raider. She's also going to be a co-writer on the BBC Discworld series The Watch.
However, the sickness slowly and unavoidably takes it's toll. It's hard to think about it without feeling it's wrong and unfair but that's how it is every time it happens to someone you care about. There is so many people who stuffer the same fate. And all their families who both get affected when they have to take care of them and when they live in danger of getting sick themselves. This is why it is so important that he admitted it and became face for fighting it. He knows he is able to pay for pills and he has means to make sure he can go on his own terms but not all people can. Here's a great interview with a woman who lost her both parents to the sickness and is part of that fight too.
But we still are barley able to help and every time I listen to a talk about a new discovery about how it works I'm painfully aware that it's still years before this knowledge becomes treatment. We know more but still cannot do much about it. But we are getting there with genetic disease so prions will get theirs ass kicked too one day.
Right now however Terry Pratchett has to start planning for the future and it was announced that his daughter Rhianna will take over Discworld. She's already pretty well known game writer - she worked on Heavenly Sword and Overlord and Tomb Raider. She's also going to be a co-writer on the BBC Discworld series The Watch.
