Aug 24, 2021, 04:59 PM

Ian MacDonald, Meadowlark Care Home

Amongst Meadowlark’s participants in the Renaissance Care Olympics was 74-year-old Ian MacDonald. Born in Tomatin, near Inverness, Ian is the oldest of five, and is also a twin. His father worked on the railways and farmed his whole life, while his mother had her hands full looking after four sons and one daughter at home.

Growing up, Ian left school aged 16 to work in a local distillery as a malt man, before joining the army to later become a tank operator. It was in this period of his life which he met his wife Elizabeth, a care assistant. Ian said of his lifelong love: “I met her at a dance and we’ve been dancing ever since”.

Aside from dancing, Ian has recently been trying a whole host of new activities at Meadowlark Care Home through the Renaissance Care Olympic Games.

He said: “I loved cycling and hunting as a young man, so the Olympics were very good for helping me rediscover my passion for sport. I really liked the ‘putting’ and have enjoyed keeping up with my walking too. I used to walk to the lounge and back, but now I’m able to walk round the garden, and even further afield.”

“In my younger years, I had many different jobs, and have been lucky to travel a fair bit too. I was stationed in West Germany for a number of years, where my daughters Sarah and Wendy were born. I have many fond memories of my time there, but then we moved back home to Cawdor where I returned to my farming roots. I then went on to work in a distillery, where I worked with my twin brother Andrew, before becoming a lorry driver for McArthur Haulage.

“I’d been working as a lorry driver for about six years, when I was in a serious accident and hit my head badly. A passing lorry driver saved my life, if he hadn’t called the ambulance I wouldn’t be here today. I spent a whole year in hospital recovering.

“I’ve now lived at Meadowlark since 2018, and the Olympics has been the biggest hit with residents yet, and it has improved my health and fitness tenfold. I even joke with the staff that I’m training to run away from them, due to my increased mobility and confidence. That’s worth more than a gold medal if you ask me!”

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