Nairn couple celebrate engagement in sickness and in health
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A Nairn school teacher got more than he bargained for when he finally popped the question to the love of his life on Christmas Day.
Colin MacDonald and Jane McAndrew had enjoyed a "socially distanced" relationship for nine years, with Jane pursuing a career with the Royal Bank of Scotland in Edinburgh and Colin teaching at Elgin High School.
Jane moved home to Nairn in December 2018 and started her new venture as a fitness instructor.
So, after 11 years, Colin got down on one knee with a glittering engagement ring at the home they now share in Nairn.
Jane responded positively but celebrations were cut short when she took ill the same day and was admitted to Raigmore Hospital in Inverness the following day.
Colin’s immediate reaction was: "Being a glass is half empty type of bloke, I feared that Jane might be having an allergic reaction to my proposal of marriage.
"Rapidly turning into a glass is damn near empty type of bloke, I panicked that the prospect of getting married to me was making her physically ill!"
But Colin need not have worried – the doctors quickly diagnosed gallstones and pancreatitis as the reason for Jane’s suffering.
Jane went through surgery to remove her gall bladder just in time to welcome in 2021.
"2020 has been a terrible year for everyone," Colin said. "We were glad to see the back of it and we were looking forward to her homecoming so we could celebrate Christmas properly, new year and our engagement."
But there was one more sting in the tail. One of Jane’s fellow patients tested positive for Covid-19. So, on her return home to Nairn, the two lovebirds had to self-isolate from each other for a further 10 days.
"Jane was in the living room and me in the kitchen,"Colin said. "I was responsible for cooking, but I managed to avoid another hospital admission from food poisoning or starvation."
Both Jane and Colin have nothing but admiration for the staff at Raigmore Hospital and the excellent care that Jane received from all the nurses and doctors.
Colin’s family have always had great faith in the NHS. His late father, Gordon MacDonald, became the UK’s longest surviving heart transplant survivor when he underwent a transplant in 1980, at the age of 40, and lived until his 66th birthday. Colin’s sister Suzie also had a heart transplant in March 2005, when she was 33.
Colin stated: "My family owe the NHS a great deal. And they came to our rescue again."
Jane said: "It was a very special Christmas present and we are looking forward to our lives together. Luckily we have no signs of Covid-19 and I am recovering well and back in control of the kitchen!"
