A 52-year-old Queensland MP has announced his resignation from state parliament after being diagnosed with a brain disease that leads to early-onset rapid developing dementia.
Ipswich West LNP MP, Darren Zanow, has announced his imminent retirement after he was diagnosed with microvascular ischemic disease.
The disease – observed by MRI and PET scans – is marked by a build up of plaque in the small blood vessels of the brain.
“I have been given devastating news,” Zanow said in a post on his Facebook page.
“Observed in a person of my age, it is likely to signal that a more rapid onset has begun, and subsequent medical tests have proven this to be true in my case.
“There is no proven treatment available to slow the debilitating effects of my condition and the prognosis for me requires that I must turn my attention immediately to the needs of my daughter Lola, who is aged 7, and to those of our wider family.”
The former farmer and concrete and quarry businessperson won a byelection for the former safe Labor seat on 16 March with a 17.8% two-party preferred swing, one of the largest in a decade.
He said he only discovered his condition the day he was sworn in, 16 April.
“In a twist of fate, my initial diagnosis was first reported to me on 16 April, the same day I had the great honour of being sworn in as a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly,” he said.
Zanow said he had “no other choice” but to resign at the 26 October state election.
“I am making this full and frank account in the hope that as my family and I come to terms with the short years of shared time that remain, we will have privacy,” he said.
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Zanow said he had had “support and compassion” from the LNP, including the party leader, David Crisafulli.
The Queensland Labor premier, Steven Miles, has paid tribute to Zanow.
“My thoughts are with Darren Zanow, after his diagnosis with microvascular ischemic disease,” Miles said.
“In this job we might be on different sides, but we’re all human and we all have families. Today’s news is sad and shocking. I wish Darren and his loved ones well for the battle ahead.”