Article from the Daily Record newspaper from March 1999.
"THE NIGHT I PRAYED FOR MY SON'S LIFE"
A mother's agony: Singer Barbara Dickson on her bedside vigil for Gabriel.
As Scots singing star Barbara Dickson drove to collect her son from school, she was not unduly concerned. She had received a phone call to say Gabriel, 11, was ill, but there had been no indication that it was serious.
Barbara simply thought that, if Gabriel was a bit off-colour, it would be "nicer for him to be at home".
But within hours, the youngster was fighting for his life and preparing to undergo an emergency operation for a burst appendix.
It was an agonising week for the whole family as they waited, worried and prayed. But, last night, as Gabriel recovered at home after his ordeal, his 51-year-old mother spoke for the first time about her traumatic week-long bedside vigil. The singer said: "It was harrowing for both Gabriel and me."
Hospital staff shortages added to the trauma, as there was a 21-hour delay before Gabriel could be operated on. And Barbara had to look deep within herself to find the strength to see her and her son through the nightmare.
The popular singer revealed that she prayed quietly at night as she watched over her son while he slept.
Barbara said: "I believe religion is a very private matter, but I did pray through that time. Our church was praying for him, too. I was certainly very much in touch with that side of me."
Her prayers helped her through the worst times. And, even in her darkest moments, she refused to contemplate the possibility of losing him.
She said: "I never thought I would lose him. I tried not to be too gloomy, but to remain positive."
Her resolve was tested to the limit as her son's condition deteriorated.
Gabriel's burst appendix, serious enough in itself, became potentially life-threatening following an adverse reaction to drugs used to treat the condition.
Barbara explained: "He was on a drip after the operation. A cocktail of three different antibiotics was fed into it, but he had a bad reaction to them. The doctors had to give him the antibiotics to kill the infection, but then he suffered these adverse reactions. It was awful."
Yet, it had all seemed so simple when Barbara had decided to collect Gabriel from his boarding school, St Hugh's, near her home in Lincoln.
The Dunfermline-born mother-of-three said: "The school phoned to say that Gabriel had been taken ill.
"I know that he would have been well looked after there, but I decided it was nicer for him to be at home when he was sick, so I drove to collect him that afternoon."
At that time, she hadn't thought it was serious. She said: "At first we never suspected appendicitis.
"We didn't really know what was wrong with him, but during the day he got worse. Later that night, he got really bad and was in a lot of pain. By now, he was showing all the signs of appendicitis, so I took him to the hospital. It must have been about one a.m."
But it was not until 10 pm that same day that Gabriel underwent an emergency operation.
Barbara said: "They said he was an acute case, but I guess there must have been cases which were even more acute."
Despite the delay, Barbara is full of praise for the hospital staff and for the treatment her son received.
She said: "The staff were all excellent. They were all so kind, sympathetic and helpful.
"They see so many sick children, but they realise how important every case is and know what all the parents are going through. Many of them are parents, too. I don't think it would have made any difference if we had gone to a private clinic."
Barbara, who topped the charts in 1985 when she sang I Know Him So Well with Elaine Paige, was starring in the touring production of the West End hit musical, A Slice Of Saturday Night, when Gabriel fell ill. Once her son was out of danger, Barbara even managed to make an appearance in the stage show for one night.
Then she rushed back to the hospital to continue her vigil with husband Oliver Cookson.
But, when the show moved from Lincoln to Brighton, Barbara felt she had to pull out. Her role as ex-dancer and nightclub owner Erica in the award-winning musical, set in a busy 60s nightclub, was taken over by understudy Gina Murray.
Barbara said: "I love my work, but Gabriel was far more important - children always are.
"He needed me by his side and I felt I couldn't go away. I wanted to be with him. When I said I couldn't go to Brighton, the company were very understanding about it."
Gabriel got home from hospital last week and is now recovering at home. Brothers Colm, 12, and Archie, nine, are keeping him company. Barbara said: "He's still pretty fragile. But you can see the improvement day by day. It's a relief."
Barbara hopes Gabriel can return to school with his brothers on Monday, after the English half-term break.
She said: "He is looking forward to going back to school. He won't be able to play games for two weeks, which is disappointing for him. He loves cricket.
"It's at times like these that you learn a valuable lesson - you can never take your children's health for granted."
But now that Gabriel's on the mend, Barbara can think about work again. She'll be back on stage in A Slice Of Saturday Night, playing Edinburgh and Aberdeen next month. Her role combines her acting and singing talents - she starred in the ITV drama, Band Of Gold, and had a string of hit singles, from Answer Me in 1976 to Another Suitcase In Another Hall, Caravan Song and In The Night.
Her last album, The Dark End Of The Street, in November 1995, reinforced her position as one of the most versatile artists in the UK. But, despite success as a singer and actress, it's her role as a mother which gives her most pleasure.
A pleasure that is partticularly pleasing now that her recent domestic drama is over and she can start to look to the future a little and spending some time with her family.
She said: "We're planning a holiday in France and I'm looking forward to seeing all the boys splashing about in the pool and playing in the sun."
By Kathleen Nutt
