BELOVED Australian TV host Fiona MacDonald has announced her own death three years after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease.
The 67-year-old was famous for her iconic role as host of Australia‘s It’s a Knockout and the kid’s show Wombat.
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A statement via her own social media account read: “Farewell my friends.
“My sister Kylie is posting this because I have left the building. Hopefully I’m looking down from a cloud.
“Last night brought an end to a very tough few months. Was very peaceful, the boys and Kylie stayed with me to say goodbye.”
The mother-of-two boys shot to fame in Australia when she became the face behind the puppet show Wombat which followed on from Argo’s Cartoon Connection in the 1980s.
The Queensland-born celebrity was then known as the host of It’s a Knockout which gained her legendary status across the millions of families in Australia.
Across her two-decade long career she also appeared on Look Who’s Talking and In Brisbane Tonight.
Fiona later became an expert in wines as she took time out of her TV roles to start up her own consulting business in the early 2000s.
She worked as a business development manager and PR and communications manager for wine marketers Fine Wine Partners.
Before moving on to set up her own PR consultancy firm Wine Chronicles in 2015.
After a successful career on the screen and in the wine industry the star was forced to stop after being diagnosed with motor neurone disease in November 2021.
I carry your love and laughter with me and hope you’ll remember mine
Fiona MacDonald
Her final statement also touched on the difficulties she had been facing over the past three years.
She wrote: “While I’ve never wanted to die, the thought of leaving my tortured body was a relief.
“The last few months have been tough. Unable to swallow normal food, the tube feeding that should have sustained me didn’t work because my gut couldn’t tolerate any of the multiple brands of protein drinks.
“It went straight in and straight out.”
The touching goodbye message ended with Fiona telling her fans that this wasn’t a goodbye and that she would see them “again on the other side”.
She ended the note by saying: “May the wind be always at your back. May the sun shine warm upon your face.
“May the rain fall softly upon your fields until we meet again. And may God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
“I carry your love and laughter with me and hope you’ll remember mine.”
The message was followed by a picture of Fiona with her family and another of her with a beaming smile on her face.
Symptoms of Motor Neurone Disease
Muscle weakness and stiff joints are common symptoms of motor neurone disease.
Other potential indicators of MND, which affects around 5,000 people in the UK, include a loss of muscle mass, or wasting, and movement and mobility problems.
Stiffness is also common, as are cramps, twitches and spasms.
And many people will experience speech and communication issues, breathlessness and changes in saliva.
MND is caused by a problem with cells in the brain and nerves called motor neurones.
These cells gradually stop working over time, but it’s not known why this happens, the NHS says.
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