In 1994, for reasons too complicated to explain, I found myself in the Argentinian city of Mendoza, tucked away at the foothills of the Andes, on the far western side of the country.

Having been shown to my modest “pensione” on the outskirts of town, for reasons I can’t explain, I turned on the television, a big boxy thing, the only significant piece of “furniture” in the sparse, musty room.

Goodness knows what I expected to find on “telly” in Mendoza, but pre-internet, pre-smart phones, there weren’t a lot of other local entertainment options immediately available, not in up-country Argentina.

As the old box set sprang to life, imagine my surprise when I saw filling the screen the cherub-faced Billy J Smith and his sassy sidekick Fiona McDonald, the celebrated co-hosts of “It’s a Knockout”, the Aussie “variety” show that screened on Channel 10 in the mid 80s – dare I say, for much longer than it should.

If that wasn’t sufficiently bizarre, when I cranked up the volume, Billy J and Fiona were jabbering away in Spanish. Es un nocaut! Que carajo? Qué está sucediendo? Si Si…

Having spent a bit of time with Billy J at the Caxton Hotel over the years, I knew he was good for a bit of late night-XXXX bitter induced Swahili, but fluent in Spanish? Now that was a knockout.

Winding the clock forward almost 30 years, there’s a much more poignant side to the story, distantly removed from any banal South American travel log.

I’m referring to the crippling health battle currently confronting Fiona MacDonald, “the teenage idol’s” one time partner in cinematic crime.

Far from being able to speak Spanish, Fiona can no longer speak at all – not a single decipherable word.

In November 2021, she was diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease, a sinister condition which randomly attacks the human nervous system. Over vastly varying periods, this causes paralysis of all muscles, including those needed to breathe.

MND often starts with a slow weakening of a hand or a foot, or in some cases the tongue, causing a slurring of speech. It is slow and insidious, and very hard to diagnose. With no predictable pattern, it paralyses the muscles to the point where victims can do little more than breathe and blink. Then ultimately, they surrender.

The initial warning signs for Fiona came in the form of minor verbal stumbles – strange mispronunciations that she couldn’t correct. Then a small trip, followed by a heavier tumble. Everything felt normal but the creeping awareness that something was wrong couldn’t be ignored.

“After a lengthy and exhausting battery of tests, including examinations in all sorts of high-tech machines, my neurologist Professor Rowe, gave me the bad news that I had Bulbar onset Motor Neurone Disease, a terminal disease with no cure,” the one-time high-profile television presented explained, via email exchange.

“I went home and texted my family and friends. It was brief and to the point and ended by saying, please don’t ring me. I’ll call when I’ve had a chance to process this news.”

In keeping with the vivacious upbeat personality that she shares with her elder one-time TV star sister “Jackie Mac” (of Hey Hey it’s Saturday fame), Fiona has refused to surrender meekly.

She and her youngest sister, Kylie have just completed “a big lap” of Australia, raising money and awareness of her condition in the most remote parts of the country.

Three sisters: Jacki and Fiona MacDonald with Kylie Thynne.

Some 15,521 km (including u-turns!) in six weeks, the pair of them crammed into Fiona’s four-cylinder silver Mazda CX5, her electric wheelchair commanding a lion’s share of the surplus space.

When they commenced their “big lap” on July 6, Fiona’s speech could still be understood, although she was getting harder to understand. But by the time they arrived back in Sydney less than a fortnight ago, her speech faculty had almost completely disappeared. She now mainly communicates by typing messages on her phone.

The pace of MND can’t be predicted from one person to another. Bulbar onset MND is more aggressive than limb-onset MND. It attacks the neurones that control the swallowing muscles and those required to breathe. Most sufferers die from respiratory failure.

Far from feeling sorry for herself, the mother of two boys, Harry 27 and Rafe 25, is determined to fight MND.

“The only answer is research and trials and that requires money,” Fiona wrote. “I was searching for a way to raise funds. My left leg is too weak to walk or swim, so I thought why not drive a big lap of Australia? That way I could be out in the country, to reconnect with the life force of the earth. To feel alive even though my body is dying.”

Through “the big lap”, she has already raised in excess of $85,000, funds that will be channelled into the research efforts of Professor Dominic Rowe, the head of Neurology at Macquarie University.

There’s a target of $100,000, but as her days of hosting TV variety shows told her, there are many times you don’t stop at the target, you crash on through!

“The whole idea felt colourful, grand and audacious, so why not set an audacious target. If I was really brave, I would have aimed for a million!”

Fun fact: Filming of It’s a Knockout in Dural, New South Wales, only ceased in 1987 after complaints from locals about the noise levels. Bloody kill-joys! I reckon the show was destined to become one of Australia’s greatest TV productions!

To Donate
https://makingadifference.gofundraise.com.au/page/Fiona-88554793

Funds raised here are tax deductible over $2 and will go directly to Macquarie University MND clinic lead by Professor Rowe.