Today I am very proud, not just of the efforts and feedback I’ve been getting for my latest title Unity 3D UI Essentials but also for my publisher who (against all odds) has done an amazing thing, promised a portion of sales revenue for my book to Charity.
Prader-Willi Syndrome, if you are unfamiliar with it (which I suspect most of you will be, it is not a very common condition) is a genetic disorder that affect approximately 1 in 20,000 children, which my eldest son (our first child) was diagnosed with at birth.
The disorder affects us in many ways but predominately it comes down to two very contradicting ailments that challenge our lives on a daily basis.
- Poor muscle tone – It might not sound like much but this means that our son cannot digest food as well as most people and also, more importantly, cannot burn off fat from any food he consumes very well.
The sum of this is that he can only eat about half the normal calories that a child of his age can, purely because without this moderation he can put on weight VERY quickly.
So a nice constant diet doesn’t sound too bad and it does mean our whole family is also forced on a perpetual diet and we all eat healthy. (But is also means now sweets or treats around the house and ALL food must be locked away out of reach)
- Increased appetite – This is where all the problems really start. Due to a deformation in the hyper thalamus, the chemical / protein / magic switch that our brain releases to tell us that we are full and should stop eating is either not produced or in such small quantities that is has a very limited effect.
The upshot of this is that he is constantly hungry and craves food.
So you can well imagine the stress a family is put under living with this condition, with a child that while they cannot eat much, constantly craves food. There are some other side effects of any chromosomal disorder like learning difficulties and behaviour but that is just part of the package.
We were lucky in some aspects as we were informed about his condition when he was only 3 weeks old, so we have been able to plan and manage his condition early on and have learned how to cope. Granted it is always a struggle but you soldier on. With the support of the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association UK we are prepared for what the condition can throw at us. They truly provide such wonderful support through events, training and a good ear to talk to when times get tough. We also do get a fair amount of support from our local council’s social care departments.
Power to the UI
So with the launch of my latest title Unity 3D UI Essentials, 2% of total sales (1% from my royalties and 1% from the publisher) will be donated directly to the Prader-Willi Syndrome Association. Now, not only will you learn about all the fantastic new features of Unity’s new UI system and gain a deeper understanding of all its components, you will also be supporting a fantastic charily that helps families like ours in their direst hours.
To all I say a big thank you
So to anyone buying my latest book, I say a big thank you. You are all truly awesome people!!
Also, if you read this before Sunday 22nd February 2015, there is still a competition going on to win the title and be in the chance to grab some other worthy prizes.
http://bit.ly/Unity3DUIEssentialsLaunch
Simon (darkside) Jackson
Engineer, industry executive, research enthusiast. Avid learner with diverse interests in coding, game development, Mixed Reality (AR/VR/XR) and reinforcement learning. 25+ years of experience working in multinational corporations and startups.
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