A popular New Zealand “psychic” suffered several heart attacks before his scheduled Friday night show in Auckland, forcing him into hospital for emergency surgery.
Kelvin Cruickshank praised his marketing assistant, Gemma Cappel, for her decisive action in calling emergency services, saying he “wouldn’t have made it to a telephone if Gemma wasn’t there”.
Cruickshank – who appeared on the paranormal investigation series Sensing Murder – was set to perform live at Hawkins Theatre in Papakura on June 27 as part of “The Language of Spirit” tour.
However, attendees lining up at the venue door for its 7pm start had their night cut short when the show was abruptly cancelled.
“Due to an emergency we have had to cancel tonight’s show,” Cruickshank’s team shared on Facebook.
“We are really sorry for any inconvenience, we will update when we can. Gem and team KC.”
Saturday night’s show in Pukekohe was cancelled soon after.
Attendees were mostly understanding of the sudden cancellations, telling Cruikshank to take care and sending him their best wishes.
But it wasn’t until yesterday that he could reveal why the shows didn’t eventuate.
“At about 5.10pm [on Friday], unfortunately, I was ironing my shirt for the show and had a major heart attack,” Cruikshank said in a video from his hospital bed.
“Luckily, Gemma was present ... and called the ambo.”
Cruikshank was rushed to Middlemore Hospital, where he suffered a second heart attack, and was subsequently moved to Auckland City Hospital for emergency surgery.
“So that’s the reason why I didn’t turn up to the shows. Again, I am so sorry.
For some reason the full video didn’t load so here is the full version. On Friday we had to cancel the Papakura show an hour out from the event. Here is a very honest and open account of why that happened. Again our apologies to everyone for the short notice cancellation. A massive thank you to Hawkins Theatre-Papakura for getting the coms out and sorting everyone who was arriving and their kindness with the situation. It’s been a very scary few days! And we are just so grateful to still have KC earth side. We will keep you updated on how he’s doing and what’s happening with the Papakura and Pukekohe shows once we get organised. Until then we’re wishing KC a speedy recovery and we’re just so grateful he’s here to tell this story! Much love Team KC #kelvincruickshank #nztour #mediumship #spirituality #spirit #kelvincruickshanklive #kelvincruickshanknzlive #kelvincruickshankmedium #kelvincruickshanknzmedium #heart #attack #heartattack #HeartAttackAwareness #hospital
Posted by Kelvin Cruickshank NZ Medium on Sunday 29 June 2025
“I think this getting old thing’s a bit of an interesting twist, isn’t it?”
Cruikshank said he didn’t feel like himself when performing in Orewa the night before and the show had turned out to be “a bit of a tough one”.
“So please understand that, obviously, I was going through a lot of issues which I wasn’t aware of.”
He felt “very blessed and very grateful” to have had successful medical treatment and expressed his “gratitude for the surgeons and the people that took care of me and still are taking care of me”.
He apologised to fans who showed up for his Papakura show before they heard the news, saying he “sort of stood you up”, and promised his team was looking at options to rebook future dates.
“Keep an eye on the page. I’ll get back to you when I’m a bit better and explain, no doubt.”
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