Terry Pratchett suffered from a rare form of the disease called posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), also known as Benson’s syndrome.
“It shows up in little, disturbing ways which - I’m in my early 60’s – would be more appropriate for the 80’s and 90’s,” he told SBS presenter Anthon Enus in 2011, three years after his diagnosis.
“It means I’m very tired at the end of the day because being normal takes more work,” he said.
“It’s a Fantasy thing. Before you can kill the dragon, you have to know its name, and once you know its name you can pull it out of the shadow.”
He also spoke at length about his views on physician-assisted suicide.
“Some very cogent cases can be made for a physician-assisted death for people who are stricken with a serious, debilitating and ultimately fatal condition, could be allowed, at their request, to die earlier,” he said.
The author, whose fantasy novels sold in their tens of millions worldwide, said he felt it was important that he was honest about his condition, in order to raise awareness of the disease.
“It’s a Fantasy thing. Before you can kill the dragon, you have to know its name, and once you know its name you can pull it out of the shadow.”
Sir Terry Pratchett died on March 12th, 2015, at the age of 66, nearly a decade after being diagnosed with PCA.
