|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Within the ranks of the New Zealand Police, there is a bond officers often refer to as the “Blue Family”.
For Counties Manukau South Constable, Brad Maxwell, that circle of supporters has become a constant reality.
Just over a year ago, his father (also named Brad) was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML).
“We learnt of dad’s leukaemia on December 10, 2024, following routine blood testing as a result of his earlier liver and kidney transplant in December 2022,” Maxwell says.
“I slowly started telling my colleagues, and immediately they rallied around me, supporting me in any way they could.”
Laps for Leukaemia
In the early hours of Saturday, February 21, that support took physical form.
At 3.45am, Constable Scott Hansen, Maxwell’s friend and colleague, set off around the track at the Papakura Athletic and Harrier Club.
The challenge: Run 111km to raise funds for Blood Cancer NZ and for Brad Maxwell Senior.
Hansen called the event “Laps for Leukaemia”, setting up a Givealittle page and training for many weeks beforehand.
The run began in darkness and ended in darkness. By 8.41pm, exhausted but resolute, he stepped off the track, surrounded by his wife Nerys, his mother Janey, colleagues and friends.
“I would be lying if I said I put an enormous amount of specific training into this because I don’t think it was really something I could train for,” Hansen says.
“I just kept up my regular running routine, and I knew 90 percent of the day was going to be a mental game anyway.”
He had done a handful of track sessions in body armour to test comfort and endurance, but Hansen knew the real test would be psychological.
“There are honestly no words for how it felt to finish,” he says.
“As the day went on, I started to feel a bit guilty that all my mates were spending their Saturday evening just watching me go around in circles. Having that final charge of 2km with all my mates around is honestly a feeling I’ll never forget.”
‘No one wanted him to do it alone’
For Hansen, the day was defined not by the stopwatch, but by the people who showed up.
“Eighteen members of his 19-strong police section made their way to the track at various points throughout the day, (the missing member was on an AOS selection course in Porirua), many of them on leave or rostered days off. Officers who had just completed a 10pm to 6am shift arrived straight from work and ran laps in full kit: woollen pants, boots, body armour system (BAS), Taser and radio.”
Support extended well beyond one section. Staff from across Counties Manukau, including the Public Safety Team, Communities, Area Prevention Unit, Criminal Investigations Branch and the Child Protection Team, dropped in to take turns running. Leadership was also present, with constables, sergeants, senior sergeants, an inspector, and a superintendent all making appearances.
For Maxwell, the most moving part was that Hansen was never left to circle the track alone.
There was no formal plan for that; it simply happened. Someone was always beside him, matching his pace, sharing the kilometres and ensuring the burden of the day was carried together.
“At roughly 3.30am, at least 16 of us turned up for the Karakia and the first lap,” Maxwell says.
“The fact that Scott never ran alone, there was never a conversation about it. It was just known that none of us wanted him to be going through this alone.”
Members of the public also joined in. Two young men ran more than 40km after being
sponsored to do so. One woman ran with Hansen while carrying a photo of her friend, a
police officer who died of AML eight years ago.
And in one of the most emotional moments of the day, Maxwell’s father completed five laps
of the track himself, three while wearing his own BAS.
“He hadn’t walked more than a couple of hundred metres in a day for over six months,”
Maxwell said.
“For him to do 2km was impressive.”
More than one fundraiser
The ultramarathon was the culmination of months of grassroots fundraising.
In June, Nerys launched “Brownies That Back Brad”, baking 360 brownies and selling them by donation across Counties Manukau police stations. Contributions ranged from $1 to $50 per brownie.
In August, Maxwell organised the “Backing Brad” quiz night at the Blacksmith Eatery and Bar in Takanini, securing prizes including a $350 ham, a night at the DoubleTree by Hilton Auckland Karaka, a $500 tattoo voucher and sports memorabilia as well as drinks and vouchers from local businesses.
Held on October 20, the event drew about 80 people. Maxwell Senior was unable to attend as he was three days post-stem cell transplant, but joined virtually via FaceTime.
“Whilst some attendees were mum and dad’s friends and colleagues, most were police officers who had never met him,” Maxwell says.
“The support of the Blue Family has honestly been second to none.”
A bond forged on the job
Maxwell and Hansen both serve as constables in Counties Manukau South, covering Takanini, Papakura, Pukekohe, Tuakau, Waiuku, Kaiaua, Āwhitu and surrounding areas.
Maxwell describes the “Blue Family” as a bond formed through shared exposure to intense situations.
“It means I know I can reach out to my colleagues, day or night, and there will be multiple people there for me, no questions asked,” he says.
“I have cried on their shoulders. They have brought me food when I haven’t had the energy to cook. They have backed us 100 percent and it means the world to our family.”
Four months on from the transplant, Maxwell Senior is now considered to be in deep remission. However, the leukaemia can still return.
He currently attends the haematology day clinic at Auckland Hospital twice weekly for blood monitoring and ongoing preventative treatment, alongside up to 25 daily medications. If progress continues, appointments may be reduced to weekly later this year and potentially further in 2027.
Maxwell says accepting help has not always come easily.
“I’m not very good at asking for help, but when you are thrust into this kind of situation, you have to,” he says.
“I want to thank every single person who has donated their time or their money to support me and my family, you will never know how much it means.”
He is also urging the public to consider donating blood or plasma and to explore becoming a stem cell donor.
“It’s such an easy process, and you never know who might just need it to save their loved ones.”
‘Kind and helpful’
Hansen’s mother, Janey, says endurance running has long been her son’s hobby. Her visit from the UK coincided with his run, and she calls it the “highlight of her trip.”
“Nerys drops him somewhere, and he runs back, or he calls her miles from home asking for a lift,” she says.
She describes him as determined, shaped in part by losing his own father at a young age and travelling the world for two years before joining the police.
“As a copper, he leans towards the ‘kind and helpful’ before laying down the law in an authoritative manner,” she says.
What stood out most on the day, she says, was the respect within the team.
“All of their support at the run was concrete evidence of how they work and stick together as a team.”
And behind the scenes, she says, Nerys’ organisation and steady encouragement, including a whiteboard full of motivational messages. was pivotal.
For Maxwell, the day was a reminder of something simple but powerful.
“It brought so many people together over someone most of them had never met,” he says.
“It reminded me of the kindness of people.”
