Bittersweet moment for dad who finishes book written for his late son

IT was a promise he knew he just had to keep.

To complete a children’s book, sure to delight with its tales of fun and adventure.

But seeing the novel launched yesterday was the most bittersweet of moments for dad Michael Angus, 53.

The youngster the Helensburgh architect would most have wanted to share it with was his son, Christopher.

However, the bright and bubbly little boy who “laughed at everything” died suddenly, aged just six, from a rare genetic mutation which caused a critical heart condition.

Before Christopher’s death, Michael, a keen bedtime storyteller like parents all across the country, had already penned a debut novel for his daughter Katie, now 12.

With her fun-loving little brother having asked for a book to be written for him, too, Michael has battled through the grief that devastated himself, wife Angela, 41, and little Katie, to honour his vow.

And Christopher’s thoughts and inspiration and Katie’s illustrations have – finally – resulted in The Pointless Rose.

Now the book will help raise funds for the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity as Christopher spent so much of his early days in and out of the-then Yorkhill Hospital.

“The gene mutation caused a heart rate and rhythm problem,” said Michael, speaking exclusively to The Sunday Post.

“We knew it was very serious, but never that it was likely to be fatal and certainly not so young. It was so rare there wasn’t any single drug treatment.

“It was a case of trial and error until they came up with a combination, when he was about three, that seemed to keep things stable.”

Life settled down into some normality and his health problems never held Christopher back, from his energetic Taekwondo lessons to playing a full part in daily life at Garelochhead Primary School.

“Even when we had him in hospital the doctors would ask to see him and he’d be running up and down the corridor,” smiles Michael, a lecturer at Strathclyde University.

“Nothing fazed him at all. He had a freshness and openness to him.

“There wasn’t a bad bone in his body. His big, brown eyes said it all. While I’d have all the worries of the world, he just loved life and loved everybody.”

Shockingly, out of the blue on October 27, 2014, Christopher’s heart gave out.

“It basically went in to meltdown,” says Michael.

The agonies that followed were like nothing Michael could ever have imagined.

“Grief is not what you think. Losing a child is the horror of horrors. It’s a bit of a taboo subject for others, they don’t know what to say to you.

“And I suppose I was a bit old-school, thinking I had to be strong. That was something I knew I had to change though, as it’s important men share their feelings, too.”

When they were still the loving family of four they imagined they would always be, Michael loved Katie’s beaming smile as he sat by her bedside reading stories.

He self-published a book of 15 short stories with her help and her drawings, called The Beautiful Coat.

“It had a faith theme running through it and when Christopher said, ‘Can you write me a book, Dad?’ I thought about a hope theme,” says Michael.

In the wake of Christopher’s devastating death, the book was understandably put to the side.

But Michael knew the promise he’d made to Christopher just had to be kept.

It was a labour of both love and loss.

What he thought may be something he could do within a year, took more than two.

“It would be nice to think Christopher would be there in every word, but you wouldn’t be able to do that,” he confides.

“When I have Christopher in my head I slightly crumble.

“I always knew this was for him, though. It didn’t come easy and I found it really tiring and emotional.

“It was written in a grief world, but it was all very much about wanting to find hope.”

When Michael needed inspiration and a child’s-eye view, he found Christopher was always there.

“We’d talked before he passed away about what should be in a kids’ book and I tried to follow his advice – like having pirates and treasure and aliens.”

Michael and his family found great support during their darkest hours though the Brightest Star charity, set up to help bereaved families who have lost a child.

And the launch of the book yesterday at Helensburgh’s Victoria Halls will boost the coffers of the hospital charity for which he’s already done so much.

Now, having taken the themes of faith and hope in his first two books, Michael is planning to complete the trilogy with a book with charity running through it.

“I think The Pointless Rose is a book Christopher would have liked me to have read to him,” adds Michael.

The Pointless Rose (and Further Assorted Stories for Children) £9.99 by Michael Angus is available through Amazon.

Details at michaelangus-author.com

And he didn’t stop at a story

THE book is only a small part of Michael’s efforts to help the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity.

He has already completed two marathon treks in Christopher’s name. One was along the Great Wall of China, the other an Arctic trek in temperatures of –32 degrees, despite grief having left him a physical wreck.

“I was in a really bad way,” explains Michael. “It took a toll I hadn’t foreseen.

“In bed one night, just lying there, I felt I couldn’t breathe.”

He barely managed to complete a charity 10k but, having set up the Christopher Angus Fund, signed up for the two huge fundraising efforts and set about getting himself in shape, losing two stone in weight.

First up was the 75km Great Wall trek in October.

“It’s just very hilly in parts and a real challenge.”

Michael wore a kilt on the Wall, but the most high-tech of thermals were required for the 65km Arctic adventure last month.

“It was so cold the only way to keep your drinking water from freezing solid was to keep it inside your layers, close by your body heat.

“But, tough though it was, it was an unforgettable experience.”

The 17-strong party have raised over £120,000.

Kirsten Sinclair, director of fundraising, Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “Michael is an extraordinary person and his support means a great deal.

“He experienced the most difficult situation imaginable, but his commitment to the hospital is truly inspiring and a fitting legacy to the memory of Christopher”.

Michael’s Just Giving page has reached over £14,000.

But he’s far from done. He has devised a five-year plan to continue to raise funds in Christopher’s name.

“I’ll be heading to the Rockies for a trek this September.

“At Christopher’s funeral I said that there must be some good to balance this terrible thing. I’ve realised that good isn’t just going to occur, I have to go out and make it happen.”

See justgiving.com/fundraising/Michael-Angus