This is for everyone who has been so incredibly kind and thoughtful to me during this last terrible month - I am overwhelmed by the messages and cards and postcards etc I have received..............I don't know if I can properly express my appreciation to you all in an email, but I'll give it a go. I have been a member of this list since about 1998 and have always held that it is the BEST list, with the BEST people on it - generous and friendly, fun and kind. Because of that, my enjoyment of Donegal research really grew, leading me to build a website full of every scrap of Donegal resources I could lay my hands on - from there I started the lookups and I still really enjoy them - I enjoy the challenge of trying to find info for people and get almost as excited as the descendants when I find REALLY good info. The emails I receive back when I've been able to at least put someone on the right track have been such a buzz too :-D Over the years I've also 'met' and befriended some wonderful people! I'm realtively 'young' for a researcher - in my early 40s, I live in in a small town on the South Island of New Zealand with my husband and two sons (Conor, 2 years and Liam, 7 years) - this research has helped me retain my 'sanity' while raising my boys too :-) Unfortunately, being realtively young has not allowed me to avoid major health issues and it all caught up with me on the 20th May - firstly a heart operation developed a severe complication, then 3 days after recovering from that, I developed a severe complication to the complication.............I'm now home to recover from that secondary complication so I can return to hospital for the surgery I initially went in for in May - hopefully I will continue to improve enough so I can have that in about a month - the doctors don't want me any earlier than that, as they explained they did NOT want another severe complication to the severe complication to the severe complication! I'm with them - I've done the rounds of the cardiothorasic intensive care, cardiac care unit and acute cardiac care wards in the last 4 weeks and I'd just like to take it easy for a while :-) Its been a really tough time but I can say, without a shadow of doubt, that the messages and prayers of you all have really helped me get through this! I've still not read through all the messages (I've only been home 3 hours!), but while reading through those I have, in the back of my mind I was thinking ' my God, this womans a saint!' - then realised you were talking about ME! You've made me feel so humble and so cared for - and lifted my spirits so much! THANKYOU so much to everyone! Thankyou to Carol, the list owner, too! All the very best, Lindel