I've just read Peter Scott-Morgan's autobiography about his journey to transform himself into a human cyborg and wondered if anyone else has. For those who haven't, the book alternates chapters about his diagnosis with MND and his determination not to die from it, with an account of his personal life.
In Part 1, we learn about his time at public school, interspersed with the difficulties of getting a diagnosis. I rather empathised with this as, like Peter, I was told in the first instance that I definitely didn't have MND and was, like him, only diagnosed after a second EMG, by which time you're pretty certain you have it anyway. He finds the medical establishment conservative and reluctant to personalise and be pro-active in his care and decides to opt for a series of surgeries and robotic solutions of his own devising.
Part 2 contains a lot about the scientific upgrades he has planned, not to enable him to live a 'normal' life, but to continue being himself and interact with others in the way that he wants. However, it was difficult to see the benefit to the MND community at large: not all of us have access to voice synthesising (not voice banking) or Pinewood Studios to have our facial movements preserved. In his personal life, he comes out to his parents and meets the love of his life.
In Part 3 his physical condition worsens and he expresses disappointment with the MND charities and organisations for being reluctant to try out new ideas. He worries about the medical profession writing people with MND off and refusing treatment. After initial hostility, his parents come round to the idea that their son is gay and attend his wedding to Francis. The book finishes in the realms of Science Fantasy with a character and in a land he invented at school.
If you enjoy reading autobiography, you will find this book interesting, but it is not about finding a cure for MND. It is about living with the disease in the best way possible, through technology and elective surgery.
In Part 1, we learn about his time at public school, interspersed with the difficulties of getting a diagnosis. I rather empathised with this as, like Peter, I was told in the first instance that I definitely didn't have MND and was, like him, only diagnosed after a second EMG, by which time you're pretty certain you have it anyway. He finds the medical establishment conservative and reluctant to personalise and be pro-active in his care and decides to opt for a series of surgeries and robotic solutions of his own devising.
Part 2 contains a lot about the scientific upgrades he has planned, not to enable him to live a 'normal' life, but to continue being himself and interact with others in the way that he wants. However, it was difficult to see the benefit to the MND community at large: not all of us have access to voice synthesising (not voice banking) or Pinewood Studios to have our facial movements preserved. In his personal life, he comes out to his parents and meets the love of his life.
In Part 3 his physical condition worsens and he expresses disappointment with the MND charities and organisations for being reluctant to try out new ideas. He worries about the medical profession writing people with MND off and refusing treatment. After initial hostility, his parents come round to the idea that their son is gay and attend his wedding to Francis. The book finishes in the realms of Science Fantasy with a character and in a land he invented at school.
If you enjoy reading autobiography, you will find this book interesting, but it is not about finding a cure for MND. It is about living with the disease in the best way possible, through technology and elective surgery.
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