Post-traumatic stress disorder not only affects armed forces, fire departments and police, it can afflict search-and-rescue members too, says Wounded Warrior B.C.'s co-founder.
The running tour, which raises money for mental health supports for professionals who are exposed to trauma, through Wounded Warriors Canada, stopped in Nanaimo on Friday, Feb. 28.
Dan Bodden, runner and co-founder, is both a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force and a search-and-rescue organization and says people in both fields can suffer from PTSD.
"Sometimes there's a plane crash, [there] could be family members, and you come in and there's a spouse who is deceased, and the spouse beside them is still alive, or a little baby, and then you go home to your own kids. How do you deal with that and be normal for the next day? We're not wired for that so [seeking help] needs to be normalized," he told the News Bulletin.
Bodden helped found the B.C. run 12 years ago. Back in 2011-12, troops were returning from Afghanistan and there were reports of self-harm and suicide from them and first responders as well. There needed to be dialogue and we weren't "going to drink or pray our way through this."
"The armed forces and first responder communities have had quantum change over the past decade with programs, like 'hey boss, I need a week off,' and there's administrative mechanisms [to] go and take your week and check in with us after. That's not questioned anymore…" he said. "I remember what it used to be like, and I see what it's like now, and things have changed."
However, there is still room for improvement and Bodden envisions a time when mental health supports will be as normal as going to a doctor for tendinitis.
This year's run spells a return for him after a hiatus from running and he said it's going as well as can be. He wasn't able to train in January because of a "100-day cough," but is getting back up to speed.
"In the evening, I'm measuring my heart rate over sleep and all that stuff, and I am recovering. Don't feel too bad for an old guy with 70K on his legs," quipped Bodden.
The fundraising target is $250,000. Jacqueline Zweng, Wounded Warrior B.C. run director, said $25,000 was raised in Nanaimo event and the group is confident its goal will be met.
On the morning of Saturday, March 1, the tour embarked for Shawnigan Lake, with stops in Ladysmith, Chemainus and Duncan. The tour ends Sunday, March 2, in Victoria.
For more information, go to http://woundedwarriorrunbc.ca.
