At their home in Stonehaven, the Brooks family is celebrating a very special birthday.
Seeley Brooks has just turned eight years old and the house is filled with the leftovers of his party the previous day. A giant inflatable ‘8’ is floating near the roof of the conservatory and Seeley excitedly tears open an Amazon parcel containing a late gift.
For mum and dad Andy and Lindsay Brooks, however, the best present is that Seeley no longer has to go to the Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital (RACH) for regular three-month scans, something he has done since he was six-months old.
Seeley was born with Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, which can affect growth and lead to kidney cancer, which the hospital scans try to pick up.
But the risks associated with it fall significantly after the age of eight, so from now on Seeley’s three-month scans change to yearly.
“It felt like quite a big milestone,” says Lindsay. “All of a sudden you feel a little bit like a weight has been lifted that you didn’t know was necessarily there.”
Andy takes on 225-mile Coast 2 Coast race for Archie Foundation
On June 1, dad Andy will add to the celebrations when he sets off on a three-day charity bike ride that will cover the 225 miles between Dumfries and Aberdeen.
Billed as the Coast 2 Coast, it’s the 15th time the BP-sponsored event has taken place and this year will feature 60 riders who are either current or former staff for the oil and gas firm.
So far, Coast 2 Coast has raised more than £2 million for charities in the north-east and elsewhere.
Among other causes, Andy will be raising money for The Archie Foundation – the children’s charity that was started out of RACH – because of the work it has done over the years with Seeley.
But Seeley is not the only Brooks to have benefited from the foundation – Seeley’s 11-year-old sister Raegan was born with a hole in her heart and has also been a regular visitor to RACH. In 2020, she underwent successful surgery to fix it.
Plus, Andy’s own medical history comes into play. The 44-year-old was fitted with a pacemaker in 2011 after discovering he had a genetic heart condition. Raegan’s heart condition was discovered only because Andy requested the testing out of concern he had passed his condition onto his daughter.
“You don’t have to have children with serious illnesses to see what those services do and to appreciate them,” Andy says.
Lindsay adds: “Although it’s been a lot, we are incredibly lucky compared to some families. And that’s the kind of thing you see when you go up to the hospital.”
Why Andy was fitted with a pacemaker in 2016
The Coast 2 Coast ride is just the latest in Andy’s fundraising efforts that so far have raised about £30,000 for numerous causes.
Before being fitted with a pacemaker, the director of new ventures at the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) was a keen triathlete.
But one evening while running to the pub he experienced an episode he describes as being like underwater.
“I couldn’t hear what you were saying. I was just like, I’d gone that really fuzzy heads where you as if you’re really drunk.”
A second episode in a hotel swimming pool convinced him to get himself checked out and doctors diagnosed him with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, known in some circles as ‘drop dead syndrome’.
The condition put a stop to Andy’s triathlons, but he was determined to stay active – something encouraged by medical staff.
“When I had the pacemaker put in, the doctor said: ‘You can do everything you want. Just don’t take up kickboxing.’
“I’m like, well, I wasn’t planning on it.”
‘You have the most beautiful heart’
Since then, Andy’s charity efforts include cycling from Aberdeen to Edinburgh in 2015, completing Ride London 100miles, cycling from London to Paris, England Coast to Coast in a day, and Lands’ End to John O’Groats over 14 days in 2022.
Standing in the kitchen in Stonehaven, Lindsay says she doesn’t even think about her husband’s pacemaker anymore, though there is a slight sigh when Andy mulls over a few possible charity adventures to tackle next.
“It would be nice to have a break for a while,” Lindsay says.
For now, the family will keep on celebrating birthdays as well as their continuing good health.
Seeley got so used to visiting RACH that now he doesn’t have to go as often he may miss it, especially the dolphin and Oor Wullie statues at the entrance. He used to do an impression of each every time he went, though he now argues with his dad that he’s outgrown that kind of thing.
Raegan, meanwhile, is not long back from swimming club. She is a keen swimmer and runner, and if she picks up cycling could take over from her dad as the family triathlete.
Most importantly, she’s fully recovered from the hole in her heart and the operation to repair it.
Andy says proudly: “When the doctor discharged Reagan, he said, ‘Reagan you have the most beautiful heart I’ve seen. It’s perfect. Now go away and enjoy your life.’”
To donate to Andy’s Coast 2 Coast challenge, click here.