#AppendicitisScare

[consanguinitatum]

DT and His Appendicitis Scar: So When Did That Happen, Anyway?

I think I've mentioned in previous posts that I come across quite a few personal tidbits about a young DT while doing research for my sloooowly developing podcast. I think - well, I certainly hope! - I've also mentioned those sorts of tidbits are not going to be in the podcast? Well, if I haven't mentioned it before, I'm mentioning it now.

I see no reason to include these sorts of things because the podcast won't be about David's personal life (either then or now) but about his professional life. But while I tend to consider most of the theatre work he did between the time he entered the RSAMD Junior School at age 11 (and then got his Equity card and went on to drama school) and prior to his move to London in 1994 part of his professional life, technically they're really not -- because up until he took his first job in the 7:84 in 1991 for The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, he hadn't been earning a wage. And he's said in interviews Arturo was his first professional gig.

But I'm choosing to split hairs here. For the purposes of my podcast, I plan to treat his drama school years as if they were part of his professional career. I do this because I want to give them the same consideration and respect as the rest of his career, and feature them as the seminal experiences they were. They helped build the foundation of his professional life. Besides, he himself has said that attending drama school was essential for him to become the actor he wanted to be.

Because I consider them professional experiences (and because I'm acutely aware of his desire for privacy) the podcast will stay as much in the professional arena as I can possibly make it. He's talked quite a bit about this period of his life before, and I don't feel uncomfortable highlighting anything he's mentioned which happens to coincide with information I've discovered. Anything of a more personal nature which gets included in the podcast will have been measured against all of these factors before it gets added in. So all of that said, we come to an interesting bit of information about something David has definitely talked about and shared about it before - but which has no place in my podcast. So let's talk about it!

The lovely mizgnomer did a great little post a few years back which featured a photo set of David chatting about the near-death experience with appendicitis he had when he was a child (see below):

David's mentioned his appendix scar a few other times as well, and each time he speaks about it, the range of his age at the time of the attack varies by a few years - usually from age 8 to about 10. That's not surprising at all, of course, because for most of us, trying to narrow down some of the events in our childhood to specific time ranges can get a bit fuzzy. But I'm pretty sure I know when it happened.

Back in 1980, a society/organizational newspaper column entitled "Church News" appeared regularly in the Paisley Daily Express. This column often featured prominent figures in churches all over the community and were often framed as "One Week in the Working Life Of" these certain figures to debunk the myth that ministers only work on Sundays. One of these columns, published on 1 May 1980, featured a certain Rev. Sandy McDonald, the minister of St. Marks Oldhall.

That week, Sandy was busy recording a series of short services at his church which would later go out on STV. These were likely part of one of two religious television broadcasts he was a part of at the time: Late Call or That's The Spirit (both programs David has mentioned over the years).

The article goes on to document Sandy's busy week, speaking about his duties chairing festivals of praise and being principal speaker at church rallies and charity events. In between these duties, the article mentions, Sandy has to attend to all his pastoral duties, including meetings with his own church groups, and - and here is the important part - "visits to hospital patients (including his own son)."

The time at which this article was written implies one of Sandy's children was in the hospital in late April to early May of 1980. It's probably a safe bet to assume it was David: while it could have been either his elder brother or his elder sister, this does happen to fall pretty splendidly into the age range of "9 or 10" for his appendicitis scare which David has given in the past. David would have just turned 9 years old in mid-April of that year.

So there you have it. David was 9 years old when he suffered the bout of appendicitis - which burst, and brought him near death.

Thank goodness he made it!

#davidtennant #AppendicitisScare #ThingsAboutDavidYouProbablyDontKnow #RandomDTFacts