The bestselling 'Discworld' author Terry
Pratchett has revealed that he has a rare form of early onset Alzheimer's.
In a statement, released on the website of 'Discworld' artist Paul Kidby, the author said: "I would
have liked to keep this one quiet for a little while, but because of upcoming conventions and of
course the need to keep my publishers informed, it seems to me unfair to withhold the news."
He continued: "I have been diagnosed with a very rare form of early onset Alzheimer's, which
lay behind this year's phantom 'stroke'. We are taking it fairly philosophically down here and
possibly with a mild optimism," he added. Pratchett is continuing work on his new book 'Nation'
and has been preparing for another novel, 'Unseen Academicals'.
He was told by doctors during the summer that he had suffered a mini-stroke in recent years but had
been unaware of it. The author had medical tests following problems with his hand-eye coordination and dexterity.
In his statement Pratchett concluded: "PS: I would just like to draw attention to everyone reading
the above that this should be interpreted as 'I am not dead'. I will, of course, be dead at some future point,
as will everybody else. For me, this may be further off than you think - it's too soon to tell. I know it's
a very human thing to say 'Is there anything I can do', but in this case I would only entertain offers from
very high-end experts in brain chemistry."
