Fans of Doctor Who and Torchwood star John Barrowman had a scare yesterday when the entertainer was rushed to the hospital with a severe neck injury. Barrowman was unable to move or speak, let alone sing and dance, due to the injury and was forced to cancel two nights of his stage show A Fabulous Christmas.
In an interview on the UKs ITV show This Morning, John updated fans on his progress. He explained: ‘I was taken to hospital in Bristol and fortunately my brother-in-law is one of the top neurosurgeons in the UK. He and one of his friends, Nick Patel, decided to do two injections into the vertebrate and then put steroids in there to alleviate the stress and the pain and reduce swelling in the joint.’
Feeling ’70 to 80 percent better’ and able to rotate his neck and sing, Barrowman says that he is feeling ‘fit and well’ and ready for rehersal today, and for a performance tonight in Manchester. John also stated that he was overwhelmed by the fans responce to his injury and their well wishes. Devistated at having to cancel shows over the past weekend, something the star is not known for doing, he says that he is looking forward to rescheduling those shows and that he felt that he had let his fans down.
Any serious injury is a terrifying event, but injuries to the neck and spine can be particularly horrific. Who could forget Christopher Reeves’ 1995 horseback riding accident, which shattered his first and second vertebrate and left him quadriplegic? The cause of Barrowman’s injury is has not been released.
John Barrowman in well known in the UK as an all around entertainer, having starred on stage and in tevelvision as an actor and presenter. He has performed on the West End, in front of the Royal family no less, and is best known for his role as the pansexual and fabulous Captain Jack Harkness on Doctor Who and Torchwood. More recently John starred in DC Comics Arrow, The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow as Malcolm Merlyn/Dark Archer. Last year he also appeared in the popular game show I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here!, coming in at 3rd place. A talented singer, John also released a studio album, A Fabulous Christmas, for which he is currently touring.
From all of your fans, John, get better soon! Your fans aren’t going to be let down if you need to take a break to heal up!
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Sidney Fraser is an American transplanted to a new life in London, where she explores fannish and geeky places, events and creations, which she relates in the continuing True and Proper Adventures of Sidney Fraser.
