Former children's television presenter Fiona MacDonald dies at 67

Former children’s television presenter Fiona MacDonald has died from motor neurone disease, which was diagnosed in November 2021. She was 67.

MacDonald was well-known for hosting the 1980s children’s afternoon show Wombat and the wacky game show It’s a Knockout.

The announcement of her death was posted on MacDonald’s Instagram page by her sister Kylie.

“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. While I’ve never wanted to die, the thought of leaving my tortured body was a relief.”

MacDonald wrote that the past few months had been tough, as she had been unable to swallow food and was slowly starving.

“The black humour that served me well through the first years of this journey turned to despair,” she wrote. “I made the decision after much soul-searching to cease all medical supports and finally go into hospital for end of life palliative care. When you love life as much as I do, it takes a great deal of courage to make choices that lead to farewell.”

MacDonald leaves behind her two sons, Harry and Rafe. Her sister Jacki MacDonald was also wellknown, as the co-host of Hey Hey It’s Saturday.

Motor neurone disease is a neurodegenerative disorder that causes weakness in the muscles and can lead to paralysis. Its cause is unknown.

In an interview with this masthead last year, MacDonald discussed the devastation of her diagnosis, revealing she used a computerised voice to communicate.

“I noticed in July [2021] that I was having trouble speaking clearly, particularly if I was tired,” she wrote in an email to reporter Andrew Hornery.

“I ignored this for a while but realised it could be something sinister, so I embarked on an extensive round of medical tests, ultrasounds of my neck, full spinal MRIs, nerve testing, blood testing – everything was looked at until finally, they came to the terrible conclusion that it could only be motor neurone disease.

“This is not a disease for the faint-hearted. MND, also called ALS, is cruel, stealing the power of all muscles inch by inch, until you can’t walk, can’t hold hands, can’t talk, swallow and breathe. Then you die. There is no treatment, no cure. You get MND, you die.

“The hardest thing I have found about this gradual decline is the loss of power … but what’s the point of dwelling on the bad things when you have limited time to find the beauty?”

Fiona MacDonald and her sister Kylie embarked on a “big lap” around Australia to raise money for MND research in 2023.

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