*Attached video: Remembering the celebrities who died in 2024
(WJW) – A popular Australian TV host announced her own death at the age of 67 on Thursday after a battle with motor neuron disease.
Fiona MacDonald, the former gameshow host of "It’s a Knockout," took to Instagram saying, “Farewell, my friends. My sister Kylie is posting this because I have left the building. Hopefully, I’m looking down from a cloud.”
Almost three years after her diagnosis with MND, MacDonald said that although she never wanted to die, “the thought of leaving my tortured body was a relief.”
MacDonald, who was best known for starring in the Australian children's TV series Wombat between 1983 and 1984, began raising money to help find a cure for MND after being diagnosed in 2021.
On the I Am Making a Difference website, MacDonald has raised over $223,000 AUD (almost $153,000 USD) after completing multiple challenges.
“Last night brought an end to a very tough few months. It was very peaceful the boys and Kylie stayed with me to say goodbye,” MacDonald’s Instagram caption said. “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. I have been slowly starving, growing weaker and weaker. I’ve also developed terrible back pain because my muscles aren’t supporting my frame.”
According to the MND Association website, the disease affects the nerves found in the brain and spinal cord that “help tell your muscles what to do.”
“Your movement will be affected and you are likely to get a wide range of symptoms,” The website says.
“The black humor that served me well through the first years of this journey turned to despair. I made the decision after much soul searching to cease all medical supports and finally go into hospital for end-of-life palliative care,” MacDonald continued. “When you love life as much as I do, it takes a great deal of courage to make choices that lead to farewell. So let’s not call it goodbye as I hope to see you again on the other side. I carry your love and laughter with me and hope you’ll remember mine.”
According to the Australia Broadcasting Corporation, MacDonald used a computerized voice to communicate before her death.
The late TV host is survived by her two sons, Harry and Rafe, and her sisters, Kylie and Jacki.