Count-down goes on and it is only few weeks left till much awaited The Discworld Convention 2014 combined with The Ankh-Morpork Grand Exhibition (coincidental mix, so they jokingly say). The event taking place from the 8th to 11th of August at the Palace Hotel, in Manchester, UK, has SOLD OUT already. The comers from all over the world are expected, which makes it even harder to acknowledge the announcement that Sir Terry Pratchett had made on the Convention’s official web page: http://www.dwcon.org/ . We are very sorry to share this news with you, but the most anticipated guest will not be able to attend a four-day long celebration in his honour.
Staying true to his Pratchetty wit, the author chooses to keep on calling his ailment "the Embuggerance” while sometimes referring to it as “witchcraft”. Diagnosed in 2007 with a rare form of early Alzheimer’s, namely posterior cortical atrophy or short – PCA, he managed to stay literary and publicly active throughout past few years even with a slowly progressing disease playing its part on the back stage, away from curious and observant eyes. It was only in 2010 when he stated: "If you did not know there was anything wrong with me, you would not know there is anything wrong with me. The disease moves slowly, but you know it's there.”
The type of Alzheimer, that Pratchett suffers from, affects the back part of the brain responsible for recognising visual symbols. He is not afraid to admit that clumsiness is one of the symptoms that did not pass him by, which is why sometimes he cannot see the cup that is in front of him and other times when he tremblingly puts it down on a glass-topped table, misjudging the distance causes things to get smashed. On the other hand, on countless occasions he would emphasize that he thought his condition would have been much more advanced and limiting by now.
Of course, some adjustments needed to be put in place to maintain a certain standard and level of convenience in his working environment, as soon as first symptoms of ageing, or perhaps those deriving from the deterioration caused by Alzheimer, occurred.
“One of the first things to go was the touch-typing. Kind of a bugger , I thought. Fortunately, technology has come to my aid.”, Pratchett shares his experience. You might not know that but his books are now created thanks to a computer voice-recognition programme or dictated to Sir Pratchett assistant, Rob Wilkins. This, of all things, did let him to stay on the outside who he was feeling inside a little bit longer, even in the face of inevitable changes affecting him, Sir Pratchett believes.
Unstoppable till now and doing seemingly fine all this time, regardless of the progressing ailment, now Sir Pratchett decides to wave a white flag for the first time ever. However, he shows great consideration for all those who are going to attend The Discworld Convention 2014 and will have to face his absence. He is not going to leave them with nothing.
Terry’s Black Hat, that his current Business Manager - Rob Wilkins will be bringing with him to the Convention, is going to represent the author. Now, that is Terry Pratchett that we know - his dedicated fans will surely appreciate this highly meaningful gesture. The organisers of the event assure that The Black Hat will be welcomed with all due honours. Q&A session will also take place, with technology coming in aid one more time. Convention attendees who would like to ask Terry a question can go to www.dwcon.org/pages/questions and do so after logging in. It has not been clearly stated whether it will be real time video conference, however attendees were promised to see Terry on video answering some questions on the Saturday afternoon during the Convention, while The Black Hat will be on stage. After that a special announcement is set to be made and, according to further information received from Sir Pratchett, a very special gift for all those who attend the Convention in person will be arranged. What might that be? With Pratchett’s galloping imagination everything is possible!
All this should prove more than enough for the reconciliation. With the most important guest’s withdrawal it is not going to be the same, but we should look into the brighter future. We wish Sir Terry Pratchett all the best.