The Forbidden Planet International Blog Log

“There’s only two ways it can go: researchers, with as much help you can give them, may come up with something that reduces the effects of this dreadful, inhuman disease, or we will have to face the consequences of our failure to prevent the final years of many of us being a long bad dream. The strain on carers and their support is bad enough now; before very long the effects on the health service and society itself, will be unbearable.” -  The great Terry Pratchett describes the serious lack of funding being spent on research into Alzheimer’s and other dementia conditions and how the mounting human cost affects families and health provision. The well loved author and creator of the Discworld series, read by millions around the globe, has been campaigning to raise awareness of this awful affliction and to encourage more funding and more research into it since he himself was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

The BBC reports that as part of his work he is to deliver a 20, 000 signature petition calling for more research to the Prime Minister, highlighting not only the horror facing sufferers of the disease but the equally dire effects on their loves ones and carers who have to deal with it, not to mention the practical costs to the health service which, as Terry argues, could perhaps be eased if more research leads to better treatments. There are all too many things which can afflict us, but the thought of losing one’s faculties, losing the elements that make you who you are (or to see it happening to someone you love and be powerless to stop it), is an especially appalling fate to consider. In a bad situation its inspiring to see Terry trying to create something positive out of his condition and campaign for himself and many others and its also uplifting to see the reaction of his many readers. The Match It for Pratchett campaign (raising funds to match the large donation to research Terry has already made from his own pocket) is still active here and you can find out more about the condition on the Alzheimer’s Research Trust site.