The Final Blog Entry
Dear Readers,
This is one I prepared earlier as the TV chefs are likely to say. By the time you read this I shall have gone, passed away, gone before, slipped away, whatever euphemism appeals to you.
Whether through natural causes or by my own hand, you will no doubt learn in time but, whichever it was, we’ve had a pretty good run over the past 57 months when the blog has received 3,120,080 hits in the 43 months it has been running.
I know, from the many responses that I have received, that it has touched quite a number of people, patients and carers, and indeed many thousands of other people who strangely found some inspiration in it. For these small victories I was truly thankful and it gave me a reason to getting up every morning and in the end the total inability to do virtually anything for myself and my severely weakened state meant that the kindest thing was to slip away.
My darling wife, who has been so wonderfully supportive since I started going downhill around March 2008, deserves a break.
My regular readers will know that I am a confessed atheist. I doubt, like Bertrand Russell, I shall have a deathbed conversion. If I do then I say to you all, God bless you, if there is a God, and I will know before any of you.
Goodbye, and thank you for listening.
23 Comments
Good men must die, but death cannot kill their names.
–The Bible
He, Prof. D. Mark Cato, was a good man……..
So brave until the very end. God bless Mark, I hope you have found peace. I wish the same to your family, who have given their all in your support. We never met but I know of the pain you bear.
Graham.
I am so very sorry to hear that Mark passed away yesterday. Julian told me yesterday morning and I felt very very sad for him, Alice and his family. I cannot find the words to say how I totally admired his courage whilst living with the dreadful cruel MN, he just lived every day as best he could in the circumstances and got on with life, incredibly brave and incredibly positive.
Silvi Smith (Julian’s PA)
So sad. Good bye Marc. You have been an inspiration to many people.
I am deeply saddened to hear this. Reading his daily blog helped lighten some darker days. Such a delightful man. My thoughts are with his family.
Russ
Good buy my dearest friend!I shall always treasure your memory in my heart.Ο Θεός ας αναπαύσει τη ψυχή σου.
An inspiration to so many people, such a pleasure to have known him. Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.
At peace at last Professor. You were an inspiration to me every day. Strong till the end. My thoughts are with Alice and your family
Goodbye DMC,
I will miss reading your eclectic, inspiring and humerous blogs. The world was a better place with you in it.
I was a pleasure to have known you, transporting you to your final Golf and Cricket at Lordes in September, never forgotten. Thinking of all your family at this time Ollie
Farewell dear Mark I will miss you and your blog. RIP.
I’m so glad that Mark’s end was peaceful……he was an inspiration to all of us, showing such courage and good humour, and living life to the full for as long as he could. He made a difference to people’s lives, and his blog was as important to others as it was to him. Those who read his blog regularly will miss him, but those who cared for him will carry the burden of grief. My thoughts are with you, Alice, Miles and Chloe.
I am so sorry to hear your sad news.
I will really miss reading Mark’s daily blog. He was an inspiration to us all.
I am so very sorry to hear of Mark’s death. I read his blog every morning so will miss this routine very much.
My deepest condolences to you all.
My only solace to you is that he didn’t have to make the difficult choice in the end to die by his own hand, and I hope in the end he was peaceful.
Much love and thoughts.
I wish I could have met such a positive man but felt I really knew Mark from reading his blog from day one. Such a fighter and with such a sense of humour. I am so glad you are such close family as you will need eachothers support in the days ahead.
Thinking of Mark and his family in their very sad loss. God bless you all. Mary (Dublin)
I met Mark only twice (through Julian Critchlow) but he struck me as an able, kind and pleasant man. One is bound to wonder why such people are put through hell on earth – but then we truly do not know the scheme and scope of it all. Despite the fact that I do not know his family, I should like to rescord here my deepest sympathy for them and the assurance that they should be glad and proud of this man’s life.
Nicholas Storey.
I met Mark only twice (through Julian Critchlow) but he struck me as an able, kind and pleasant man. One is bound to wonder why such people are put through hell on earth – but then we truly do not know the scheme and scope of it all. Despite the fact that I do not know his family, I should like to record here my deepest sympathy for them and the assurance that they should be glad and proud of this man’s life.
Nicholas Storey.
My heart is with you all – I will write later.
Love and blessings,
Joan
This gentle, witty, intelligent man has been an utter inspiration to me over the past months during which I’ve read every word of his blog. We differ greatly in age, gender, politics and I live on the other side of the world, yet the lessons I have learnt from this wonderfully clever and compassionate man will stay with me forever. As I face my own battle with an incurable, untreatable neurological killer, I will remember Mark and can only hope that I can face what is ahead with such tremendous optimism. It is not going too far to say that he has changed my life. My deepest condolences to the family he clearly loved so greatly.
I am so sorry to hear of Mark’s death. This website and blog, and Mark’s brave battle will, I’m sure, inspire many to find a cure for this most cruel of diseases.
Although I don’t know Mark’s family personally, my deapest condolences go to Alice, Mark and Chloe.
Saddened to read of Mark`s death , so brave and fighting all the way to the end . Our thoughts are with his family . Ciao caro amico .
A great man a wonderful friend, keep a bottle of champagne on ice for when we next meet. my condolences to Alice and family, my thoughts and prayers are with you.