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| Reece Midgley shortly after I arrived in Madagascar in 2009 |
There's a time for beginnings and there is a time for endings.
I started this blog "Madder in Mada" back in 2009 when I moved to Madagascar to be with my friends the Midgleys, to help out in a local church and to teach at Vision Valley School in Tana. My main reason for the blog was to keep my friends and family updated with happenings, and to share some photos from the world around me.
I started this blog "Madder in Mada" back in 2009 when I moved to Madagascar to be with my friends the Midgleys, to help out in a local church and to teach at Vision Valley School in Tana. My main reason for the blog was to keep my friends and family updated with happenings, and to share some photos from the world around me.
I wasn't a very proficient blogger to start off with - I wasn't sure if I had much anyone would want to read and I never had much self belief in my photography. But then in the middle of 2010 I tackled it with gusto, got a few loyal followers and no-one has been able to shut me up since.
But now it's time to end it all (the blog, that is). I returned to South Africa around three weeks ago to see doctors after I fell ill in January this year, struggling to breathe, and just didn't recover. It turns out that all of the problems with my lungs were caused by allergies - allergies to mould, spores, mites, grasses, grains, dairy - even to coffee, my favourite drink. My regular doctor (the card that he is) joked that I'm allergic to life but should have at least a month to live.
All three doctors I have seen have been in agreement that I cannot return to Madagascar until I am completely healed, and have been free of symptoms for several months. It seems as if the allergies can clear up, the asthmatic symptoms can disappear, and I can return to breathing again normally (which is a good thing, all in all) but that if I return to Madagascar now I risk damaging my lungs permanently.
And so I have decided to stay in South Africa for the foreseeable future. Madder in Mada is, therefore, being put on the shelf (for now, anyway). But do not despair, do not fret, I'll keep blogging at a new site (Justin Midgley back in Madagascar suggested "Sadder in SA" but I've gone with):
Come on over. "Follow me" and I'll try to have more pictures, more funny stories and more about this "sad state of affairs" I find myself in back in South Africa...
Tomorrow I'll finish off with part two of the farewell.
Aaaah no! So sad you won't be going back, we know you'll miss the Midgleys and the other friends you have there .... and you'll be missed by the lives of so many that you've touched! (Especially those you aren't even aware of!)
ReplyDeleteGlad you'll be rambling on somewhere else though, and we'll DEFINITELY be following you there! Keep up the writing and the photos, Rob, what you're doing is great!
Sad about Mada, but glad about SA and restored health.
ReplyDeleteGlad you are on the road to recovery. Am sure many will be blessed by having you back home. Take care.
ReplyDeleteYou will be missed--on the blog but most of all in Mada. Hope you recover quickly and I look forward to following your new blog. Love the little one in the wash tub.
ReplyDeleteHallo Robin. Sorry to hear about the results of the tests. I know this will turn out to be part of God's plan for your life. I trust that your health will be completely restored.
ReplyDeleteSee you at church!
Annelore
Hey, old mule:) I've said it before, and I stick to that....you are a BRILLIANT storyteller and an EXTRAORDINARY photographer. Maybe, part of being in SA, is so that you can finally put together a beautiful coffee table book on all those sunning pics and real life happenings! I really truly believe that the world needs to see this!
ReplyDeleteandy said sadder in sa
ReplyDelete