Husband’s tribute to the wife he loved

Jan 8 2009 by Shirley Bartynek, Hamilton Advertiser

A WOMAN brought up in Hamilton has died suddenly at the age of just 44.

Margaret-Anne Duthie, nee Wilson, passed away on Monday at Hairmyres Hospital after suffering a blood clot on the brain while watching television at her home.

The popular and well-known woman, who was brought up in Anderson Street, Burnbank, was rushed to the hospital before being transferred to Glasgow’s Southern General where, despite initial hopes of recovery, she sadly died.

In a cruel twist, her husband Martin, with whom she lived in Brancumhall, East Kilbride, revealed that Margaret-Anne had been given a clean bill of health just three weeks ago after undergoing a brain scan.

Martin, a quantity surveyor with South Lanarkshire Council, said: “Margaret-Anne was my best friend for the past 25 years. I am devastated that she has gone.

“She was very caring and loved animals. She loved her pet cat. We met at a nightclub in Hamilton, Park Lane, all those years ago. She had such an infectious personality and she was always laughing and smiling.

“I was in the living room watching the tennis on Saturday morning. I had asked Margaret-Anne to send a text to my parents.

“But when I got no reply I asked her again. When she didn’t reply a second time I went over to her as she was trying to get comfortable on a chair.

“She was just staring straight ahead. At first I thought it was her asthma so I got her inhaler and tried to get her to inhale from it, I soon realised that it wasn’t her breathing.

“I called for an ambulance as I had tried to lift her but couldn’t.

“She was taken to Hairmyres but was soon transferred to the Southern General.

“Initially there were signs that she was improving and she was responsive to holding my hand.

“But things got worse and she suffered a seizure and there was nothing more that could be done.

“I was able to spend the next 10 hours with her and that helped me. I felt I could say goodbye.”

Martin made a decision to have some of Margaret-Anne’s organs donated.

He explained: “I wanted something positive to come out of her death.

“As it turns out they couldn’t use her main organs but could use her eyes, and ligaments and heart valves.

“They were all taken successfully but when they were taking her heart valves they noticed a slight growth on her heart.

“They are going to carry out further tests to find out if this had any connection to her death.

“So hopefully Margaret-Anne’s brothers will be able to get tested to try to prevent something happening to them. They are also at risk because of her family’s history. Her father passed away at the age of 42 from a brain aneurysm.”

Margaret-Anne, a former pupil of John Ogilvie High School, worked for Deafblind Scotland and often escorted people to football matches where she acted as their ‘eyes and ears’.

She is survived by her two brothers, Ronald and David Wilson.

Her funeral will be held at St Leonards Church, East Kilbride, at 10am on Wednesday and then onto the Bent Cemetery in Hamilton.