Friday, July 04, 2014

Terry Pratchett forced to cancel appearance by Alzheimer's

Discworld author, diagnosed in 2007, has announced that 'the Embuggerance is finally catching up with me'

Terry Pratchett
'I have been putting off writing this announcement for quite some time' … Terry Pratchett in April 2013. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian

Terry Pratchett, who announced his diagnosis with early onset Alzheimer's seven years ago, has pulled out of a Discworld convention later this summer, saying "the Embuggerance is finally catching up with me".

Pratchett made the announcement with what he described as "great reluctance" on the website of the International Discworld Convention, where he had been set to appear as guest of honour in Manchester in August. "I have been putting off writing this announcement for quite some time and on good days thought I wouldn't have to write it at all," wrote the author. "I am very sorry about this, but I have been dodging the effects of PCA and have been able to write for much longer than any of us ever thought possible, but now The Embuggerance is finally catching up with me, along with other age-related ailments."

Pratchett was referring, in the "embuggerance", to the memorable description he initially gave to his posterior cortical atrophy, a rare form of early onset Alzheimer's he announced he had been diagnosed with in late 2007.
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