Remarkable heart op boy’s trip to palace

Princess Anne meeting St John Ambulance young achiever John Brooks and parents Lindsay and Andrew Brooks.

John Brooks, of Westbourne Avenue, Pontefract, was battling for his life in a coma only weeks before the Buckingham Palace ceremony in November.

He has a congenital heart defect and suffered a relapse following major surgery. But just weeks later John was in London for a ceremony applauding St John Ambulance volunteers.

John is a keen volunteer with the weekly St John Ambulance Knottingley “badger” unit, which teaches seven to 10-year-olds vital first aid and other life skills.

He was among 85 young achievers, aged five to 18, to meet the princess who is the patron and Commandant in Chief for Youth of the nation’s first aid charity.

Mum Lindsay Brooks said: “We are incredibly proud of him. He has been through so much and never complains. He sits through scans, X-rays, ECGs and blood tests without creating a fuss. The pain and sometimes fear he must experiencing is unbelievable but the strength he shows is outstanding.”