Terry talks candidly about his personal battle with a little-known villain called CANVAS in an interview with Ataxia Magazine, a quarterly publication for Friends of Ataxia UK.
Some ten years ago, Terry was told he had the rare, degenerative neurological condition Cerebellar Ataxia and more recently, tests have resulted in a diagnosis of CANVAS – the letters stand for Cerebellar Ataxia, Neuropathy, and Vestibular Areflexia Syndrome. This is a late onset form of ataxia, which affects his speech, co-ordination, balance and swallowing.
In the cover story, he admits: “As things have progressed, my horizons have condensed… There are many things I miss, but a host of things I still enjoy. People, talking, beautiful scenery, the love of my beautiful wife, friends, our small mad dog, Gracie, and of course writing.”
Up until his initial diagnosis, Terry had enjoyed an exciting career, marketing cars, masterminding queues, pitching ideas to boardrooms and chairing hospitality businesses. Many of these experiences have inspired the plots of his crime novels (or will, in due course!).
The shattering news led him to reassess his life. “I have always had an ambition to write fiction, but that’s when I started to seriously focus on it. I have gradually stepped away from my business interests, but my writing has helped me fight on. I am grateful to have been asked to share my story and the twists and turns of my new “life of crime” with Ataxia Magazine. This issue coincides with International Ataxia Awareness Day on September 25 and I hope being open about my own experience contributes to increasing understanding about this rare condition and its symptoms, which cannot be cured, but which I am determined to fight with all my resources!”
