Amyloidosis

[Caelan Arendor]

Robert Jordan became ill with and eventually died from amyloidosis, a rather rare storage disease that damages the internal organs, primarily the kidneys and the heart. My question: Would there already be an effective therapeutic treatment available today?

 

The answer I found in the literature claims the following:

 

Using chemotherapy-like regimens aim at reducing the abnormal light chains produced by plasma cellsamyloidosis.  Early diagnosis greatly improves the chances of benefit from modern therapies. Supportiv treatment to bolster cardiac or renal function—have also improved.

So yes—there are more effective therapeutic options today than in the past, though outcomes vary depending on the amyloidosis subtype and how early treatment begins.

 

I know that asking this question today is futile, but if Robert Jordan had lived longer and survived the disease, if he could have gifted us with his genius for a longer time, what direction would his monumental work have taken in that case? Would it have differed significantly from Brandon Sanderson’s version of the story?

 

I would love to hear your thoughts on it...

 

Greetings and best 73 --.../...-- from

Caelan

[HeavyHalfMoonBlade]

Experimental treatments are rapidly progressing for all sorts of diseases, but I don't think such "what if" scenarios are very comforting.

 

I don't know how it would have been different, but it definitely would have been. Not to disparage Sanderson any, but there were many topics that Jordan left no notes about, and for all his skills I don't think Sanderson was able to conjure up the dead to discuss plot points. Characters like Androl would not have existed, and I personally doubt that all the shenanigans with Gateways would have either (I've not read any Sanderson outside of WoT, but that kind of playing with parameters seems to be completely in character, whereas Jordan had a more plausible structure plastered over with a pleasing hand-wave to remove any hard edges approach to magic).

 

Not that it matters but I guess the biggest loss isn't the "true" ending, but everything else. The Seanchan trilogy, the years of questions and answers about the story. So much so sadly taken away from the world, and even that pales in comparison to what his loved ones lost.