Terry Pratchett has Alzheimer's

[Kail]

As I was reading through the series over the summer at one point the first page of the books start bragging about how Pratchett is Britain's bestselling living author, then that line is quietly dropped a dozen or so books later (presumably after the Potter series).  I always wondered how he felt about that, I guess he didn't take it in stride?

Well, he does mention in Art of Discworld how the series got started with Rincewind and the UU, but in an act of "amazing prescience" he changed gears because he saw no future in a series about a college of magic.  And his more recent books (the ones about that girl training to be a witch) have definitely had a more Harry Potter-ish vibe to me.  But I've heard a lot of authors sound off at Rowling, so I don't know if this is really some kind of personal grudge with her for stealing his crown or whatever, or if it's just him echoing the general sentiment, or what.

[Morat20]

As I was reading through the series over the summer at one point the first page of the books start bragging about how Pratchett is Britain's bestselling living author, then that line is quietly dropped a dozen or so books later (presumably after the Potter series).  I always wondered how he felt about that, I guess he didn't take it in stride?

Well, he does mention in Art of Discworld how the series got started with Rincewind and the UU, but in an act of "amazing prescience" he changed gears because he saw no future in a series about a college of magic.  And his more recent books (the ones about that girl training to be a witch) have definitely had a more Harry Potter-ish vibe to me.  But I've heard a lot of authors sound off at Rowling, so I don't know if this is really some kind of personal grudge with her for stealing his crown or whatever, or if it's just him echoing the general sentiment, or what.

The Tiffany Aching books have nothing in common with Harry Potter, except that it's teenage fantasy. Not tone, style, substance, plot, anything.

I've read both authors, and I'm not ragging on Rowlings here -- other than being teen/older child fantasy, the books couldn't be more different.

Also, frankly, Wee Free Men is a damn good book to recommend to any child looking for more fantasy.

[HaemishM]

But I've heard a lot of authors sound off at Rowling, so I don't know if this is really some kind of personal grudge with her for stealing his crown or whatever, or if it's just him echoing the general sentiment, or what.

I imagine it was more like my problem with Rowling, mainly that she sucks up all the goddamn press coverage on books, leaving no PR for anyone else, then bitches because someone makes a semi-spoiler yet positive review about her book that 99.9% of all other authors in the world would be orgasmic to receive.

Fuck, she gets more media coverage when she says one of her characters is fucking gay than Pratchett has ever received in his life. File that shit under "101 Reasons Life Isn't Fucking Fair."

[Morat20]

I wonder how Terry Pratchett feels about an injection into his spinal column. It's a little light on details, but the patient experienced a three standard deviation improvement on cognitative tests over seven weeks -- doubling his cognative assesment.

We're talking about a man who couldn't locate himself (couldn't name date, time, year, current city, etc) to being able to properly and correctly orient himself. Mind you, he was still scoring a 14/30 on the Montreal test, but that beat the hell out of 7/30.

This is just a single case study (the drug had shown some promise) on a potential treatment -- not a cure -- and so they went ahead and picked a good candidate. If it works -- even marginally -- on other candidates, then if nothing else they'll have established a potential pathway for treatment

[HaemishM]

In a choice between forgetting my own name and taking a shot to the spine, I'll take the shot to the spine (with appropriate painkillers I hope).

[Morat20]

In a choice between forgetting my own name and taking a shot to the spine, I'll take the shot to the spine (with appropriate painkillers I hope).

No idea. I don't recall getting any for my lumbar puncture, but I was more than a bit out of it at the time. For one, all I remember about that was it cleared up the NASTY headache I had. Supposedly, though, it hurts like a bitch -- I remember a vague popping sensation, but no pain. He did have to poke around a bit to get the right spot....

I think this shot's higher up.

[Ironwood]

Apparently, drilling into my skull and injecting novacaine could help my ears.

But no Doctor over here will touch it and I'm not sure I'd do it anyway....

[Morat20]

Apparently, drilling into my skull and injecting novacaine could help my ears.

But no Doctor over here will touch it and I'm not sure I'd do it anyway....

Yeah, I think there's always that diminishing returns point for anything medical. When it comes to actually being able to THINK, I'm willing to suffer a lot to keep that ability.

But other stuff? My kneecaps have a nasty habit of just popping free and wandering up my thigh. I wear knee braces whenever I exercise, it's only happened a few times, but my doctor assures me it's a congenital problem. And a correctable one. All they have to do is, basically, just move where my femur meets my fibia (tibia? The big bone of the bottom half of the leg) over about a quarter of an inch. On both legs.

Of course, that requires opening my knees up all the way, removing the kneecap, sawing off a quarter inch of bone, moving it to the other side, screwing it back on, and then me spending six months relearning to walk. I imagine recovery would not be pleasant. My doctor has ALSO advised me just to wear the knee braces (just spandex with a foam shape to catch the kneecap should it wander) whenever I exercise and if I still have trouble we'll reevaluate.

I wear the knee braces. Some fixes aren't worth it.

[JoeTF]

In a choice between forgetting my own name and taking a shot to the spine, I'll take the shot to the spine (with appropriate painkillers I hope).

Surprisingly, a shoot to the spine itself doesn't hurt at all. they don't even do local anaesthetization.

The catch is that they have to balance amount of spine fluid correctly - if they take or add too much you're up for weeks of hardcore pain.

[eldaec]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7560713.stm

Interview with Pratchett about his Alzheimer's.

"I type badly - if it wasn't for my loss of typing ability, I might doubt the fact that I have Alzheimer's.

"It's now hunt and peck, and there will be a moment sometimes when the letter A just totally vanishes and I don't quite know what happens.

"It's as if the keyboard closes up and the letter A is not there anymore. Then I'll blink a few times and then the letter A comes back."

But though his typing has slowed, the good news for his many fans is that his imagination remains undimmed, "going on at the same old rate".

Must suck.

[Signe]

Must.  Now I feel guilty for disliking him for so many years. 

[Nebu]

More info on the drug they injected him with.

I didn't even know that they were using the drug in this manner.  Alzheimer's is one of those diseases that is so awful, that it's worth going to extremes to maintain cognative stability.  I hate to see anyone fall to this disease almost more than any. 

[Signe]

My father was diagnosed with it not long ago.  It's hard to even go see him. 

[NowhereMan]

My grandmother suffered from senile dementia. Not sure if it was Alzheimer's related or not but she spent the last 17 years of her life so not with it that it stopped being in any way funny. She frequently thought my brother was my father and I was one of my uncles (if it weren't for the ocean separating him and my mother that might have caused issues). Much more than that she also spent a lot of her time either waiting for my grandfather to come home or wanting to go home herself (being in the house she had lived in since she was about 19). The fact that my dad and a few of my uncles spent most of her wake and funeral joking and laughing I attribute more to having lost her years before then any especially black sense of humour.

[schild]

Now I feel guilty for disliking him for so many years. 

If you start worrying about everyone who gets afflicted with a disease they can't control, you'll flip your lid. It really didn't make his writing any better. It's just, ya know, sad. But you're still allowed to dislike his writing.

[DraconianOne]

If you start worrying about everyone who gets afflicted with a disease they can't control, you'll flip your lid. It really didn't make his writing any better. It's just, ya know, sad. But you're still allowed to dislike his writing.

Suffice to say, I enjoyed his books much more than him

L2R!

[schild]

My bad, I didn't read the posts from... LAST YEAR. Rather just the ones from today

[DraconianOne]

When you're as old as I feel, last year seems like just yesterday. It's not your fault that you were born too late.

[Bzalthek]

Lawn. Exit. Post haste?

[DraconianOne]

Lawn. Exit. Post haste?

Why would I expend the effort in telling those little fuckers to vacate my lawn when I spent such time and effort concealing landmines there?

[Signe]

I feel old, too, especially today.  I had a corticosteroid injection inside my thumb today.  INSIDE MY THUMB!  It was unnatural.  I'll probably never hitchhike again.  I can not lose my thumbs or I can not prove I've evolved.  Terry Pratchett might be going loopy but at least he has his thumbs! 

Still, I look at my dad and I know this is very sad.  He hasn't forgot who I am but he doesn't know where he is and keeps thinking he's done something wrong.  Sometimes he thinks he's going to jail.  It breaks my heart.

[Bungee]

 

I just started reading his Discworld books not 6 months ago and I rarely remember myself laughing or smiling as much when watching a film than I do reading this gems.

Funny thing is, when I picked up the first book, I did it because something made me think he was the guy who wrote the Hitchhiker's Guide....