Dr Gary Tithecott with
dancer Laetitia Santore
Photo credit:
Steve Brent www.stevebrent.ca |
His tuxedo flowing behind him,
Dr Gary Tithecott sails with his partner onto the rich,
birch dance floor. Jittery at first, his nerves melt
away as he locks eyes with his voluptuous partner, soaked
in a shimmering blue gown.
Then they're off. The pair shimmy
and swirl their way through an energetic cha-cha, before
waltzing to a perfect score later in the evening.
Yes, Dancing with the Stars
has come to Chatham, Ontario. Donny and Marie might
not have been there, but ladies and gents, these docs
can dance.
STRICTLY
BALLROOM
"Some of my patients are here and some of their families
and the people I'm working with," Chatham-Kent Health
Alliance chief of staff and a 21-year veteran of pediatrics
Dr Tithecott told me before the show starts. "So it's
nerve-wracking knowing they're all going to be out there."
In fact most of Chatham seemed
to be on hand February 16, when Dr Tithecott and five
of his physician colleagues put on their dancing shoes
to help raise funds for a MRI machine. Dancing For The
Stars, as the event was called, packed the Kinsmen Auditorium
in Chatham with more than 550 patrons, sitting in their
evening best at white linen-draped tables that surround
the dance floor.
ABSOLUTE
BEGINNERS
Dr Tithecott says he wasn't much of a dancer when he
agreed to enter the competition.
In fact, most of the MDs had no
ballroom experience prior to the fundraiser.
"I took my first lesson eight weeks
ago," confides endocrinologist, Dr Linda Sinnaeve. "Now
I find I do my routine down the hallway at home, in
the basement, at the office. Not when anybody else is
around, of course."
Dr Tithecott, Dr Sinnaeve, Dr Brian
Gamble, Dr Patricia Tomney, Dr Donna Watterud and Dr
Mary McIntyre each spent 25 to 30 hours training with
Philip and Karen Bourdeau of For The Love Of Ballroom
Dancing.
"They all learn everything mechanically
and I guess that's probably how they got through med
school," observes Mr Bourdeau with a chuckle. "Every
one of them wanted to win. Once they made the commitment
to do it they were incredibly dedicated."
On the day of the show, the doctors
met their professional dancing partners from California
for the first time. They had four hours to work out
two routines.
Laetitia Santore is a competitor
and dress designer whose work has been featured on the
popular dance TV show, So You Think You Can Dance.
"I'm partnered with Dr Tithecott," she says at a pre-show
reception. "He's very focused, he's very enthusiastic,
hardworking. So we had a really good practice."
Fundraising campaign co-chair Dr
John Button was equipped with crib notes before taking
his seat as one of three judges that night. "I'm going
to be watching to make sure they're having fun and making
sure the audience is in on the action," he says. "It's
doctors acting like people and, after all, that's who
we are."
And the dancing was seamless. There
were no spills or major goofs, and the lowest score
given was a seven.
At the end of the night, Dr Tithecott
was declared top dancer. A people's choice award went
to Dr Tomney. "It was truly one of the highlights of
my life," says Dr Tithecott, with a look of pure joy.
"I really enjoyed it. My wife and I are going to take
lessons."
PENNIES
FROM HEAVEN
Dancing For The Stars proved successful, bringing in
$15,000. So far, the MRI campaign has raised more than
$600,000 since December toward the $3.5 million price
tag. Currently, local residents have to travel to Windsor,
London, or Sarnia for the service (about an hour drive
in each direction).
Dr Button says new technology like
MRI will help attract med graduates to Chatham-Kent.
Hospital officials say they'll need to recruit about
28 specialists and almost 30 GPs in the next five to
10 years.
"A grad from medicine today can
go wherever they want," he says. "Before Christmas I
had supper with a number of grads and the first question
I was asked was, 'do you still use paper in your office?'
And so the coin dropped. I realized I had been trying
to recruit 2008 graduates to a practice that runs the
same way it did in 1978." The hospital hopes to have
the MRI in place by July.
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