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The artist Anita MacDonald in one of her self-portraits |
Family plan a posthumous show for their ‘secret’ artist
Diabetic woman who loved to paint fell at her home and died
A DIABETIC amateur artist, who collapsed and died in her Hampstead home after her blood sugar levels crashed to a fatal level, is to be recognised with a posthumous exhibition of her work.
Anita MacDonald, who “lived for art,” was found dead in her Lawn Road flat by her brother Paul McGill, in August.
St Pancras Coroner’s Court heard yesterday (Wednesday) how the 32-year-old, who also suffered from schizophrenia, collapsed and suffocated after falling forwards into a position that prevented her from breathing.
She was holding a bag full of paints and crayons in her right hand when she died.
The inquest heard that Ms MacDonald was “fastidious” about taking her medication and kept detailed records of her blood sugar levels up until the day she died.
But Dr Christopher Press, who treated her until his retirement in April, said it was possible she suffered from “nocturnal glycaemia,” meaning her blood sugar dropped to low levels at night, when they were unrecorded.
He said it was not uncommon for this to go undetected by health professionals and could cause a patient to collapse without warning.
“Commonly if someone is hypoglycemic they get tingling, shakiness and feel extremely unwell long before they become confused and collapse,” he told the inquest. “But if a person’s blood sugar drops regularly the body stops giving warning symptoms. It is a potentially dangerous situation.”
The inquest also heard that in the weeks leading up to her death Ms MacDonald had complained of a series of confusing incidents where she would awake to find herself on the floor or her room ransacked.
Dr Press said it was possible nocturnal glycaemia had caused her to fit or have seizures during the night.
Mental Health nurse Pamela Hodge, who had daily contact with Ms MacDonald, said her schizophrenia had caused her to become extremely anxious about these incidents.
Recording a verdict of death by natural causes, St Pancras coroner Dr Andrew Reid said Ms MacDonald’s schizophrenia contributed to death by causing her to become paranoid about taking her medication. “But there was no evidence she deliberately harmed herself,” she said.
“The manner she was found in suggests she collapsed in such a way that she was unable to break her fall.”
Mr McGill said Ms MacDonald was “scared of people” but used art as a way to express herself.
“She drew or painted every day – there was nothing she loved more,” he said.
“I encouraged her to exhibit but she just said that her art was for her and she didn’t want to sell anybody her paintings. She was such a talented artist but no one knew about it at all.”
Mr McGill and his fiancée Emma Leon are planning an exhibition of her work in Hampstead. Staff at the Crossfield Mental Health Day Centre, in Fairhazel Gardens, where she was a regular visitor, are also planning to display her work. |
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