Dad’s lung condition drives Seahawks rookie Zac Brooks

12:20 AM ET

Zac Brooks and his dad, Malcolm, had the same routine when they walked from the baseball diamond to the car. Brooks, then in seventh grade, would carry the bucket of balls, and Malcolm would be in charge of the bats.

On this particular day, they got to practice a little bit late, and the car was parked farther away than usual.

“He just kept stopping from fatigue,” said Brooks, a Seattle Seahawks rookie running back. “He was just getting tired. He was like, ‘Zac, I don’t know what’s going on. I need you to carry the bats, too.’ So I had all the bats and balls and stuff. He was getting out of breath really easily. I helped him all the way to the car, put the bags and stuff in the car.”

“I just learned how to fight,” Zac Brooks said of seeing his father battle a debilitating lung condition. “How not to give up.” AP Photo/Elaine Thompson

At the time, Malcolm Brooks didn’t think anything of it.

“Just thought I was out of shape,” Malcolm said. “But my wife kept telling me that I needed to go to the doctor. Me being a man, thinking I’m made of steel — I’ve never been sick before in my life, figuring I would just take some over-the-counter medicine for the cough that I had, and I’d be OK. But I started getting worse, and I finally ended up going to the doctor and finding out that they did all kinds of tests.”

Malcolm was diagnosed with a disorder called hypersensitivity pneumonitis, and the tests revealed he had scar tissue on his lungs. The family believes the issues were the result of his years working for a pest-control company.

The news was jarring for the entire family. Malcolm had to stop working and now often uses an electric wheelchair to get around. His communication skills are fully intact, but sometimes he needs extra oxygen or finds himself interrupted by a bout of coughing.

Zac is the second-youngest of five children, but at the age of 13 he was called upon to grow up fast, pick up responsibilities around the house, and ensure that his younger brother was making the right choices.

“When that happened with his dad, he didn’t act confused or anything of that nature,” his mom, Nerissa, said. “But he just stepped to the plate. Whatever I asked him to do: ‘This is what’s going on.’ We’d …

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