Photo: Darren Rathwell

By Darren Rathwell

Walk for PTSD awareness arrives in Medicine Hat

Apr 22, 2022 | 10:39 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – Chad Kennedy has an intimate awareness of PTSD.

As a long-time first responder, Kennedy had been dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms for years.

But Kennedy came across a tipping point emotionally after responding to the July 2020 bus crash at Columbia Ice Field, where he was one of the first responders to arrive on the scene.

“And that’s where things sort of shifted and my demon came to light and really sort of offset everything,” Kennedy said.

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He spoke with CHAT News during an interview on the side of the Trans-Canada Highway just west of Medicine Hat Friday morning, during the latest leg of his cross-country walk to raise PTSD awareness.

The journey began April 2 in Cranbrook, B.C. and will take Kennedy across 10 provinces to St. John’s, Nfld.

Walking along with Kennedy are two fellow first responders who take over when he needs rest, and on Friday a contingent of local first responders showed up as a caravan through Redcliff and Medicine Hat.

Kennedy says it’s vital to get the message out to first responders and military personnel, that it’s OK to reach out for help. He says he needed assurance from fellow first responders it was appropriate to seek help before doing so.

“So it’s just taking off that first responder mask and reminding myself: I’m a human being. I’m not designed to see the stuff I’ve seen, nor is anybody. So it’s ok to be sad, versus the anger and rage most of us can relate to with post-traumatic stress,” Kennedy said.

He says he first was diagnosed with PTSD in 2018 after a cumulation of stress during a career that included a stint in the military and the RCMP auxiliary, and most recently, 14 years with the Sheriff Highway Patrol.

He says the Columbia Icefield tragedy was, in particular, difficult to deal with, citing a sense of helplessness.

“You don’t feel you’re helping people. Reality is we are. We’re doing the best we can until the right support services show up. But there was a lot of helplessness and then immediately after there was a lot of anger. It wasn’t until just a few months ago during therapy I allowed myself to feel sadness. For everything I’ve encountered over the years.”

Along with PTSD awareness, money is being raised by Kennedy’s walk. He says any funds not used for the walk itself will go towards resources for mental health initiatives for first responders and military veterans.

You can find more information at the campaign’s website.

Kennedy says he hopes to send the message that people with PTSD aren’t broken, and are still functional. But he says of PTSD, “it’s just an evil beast inside that there’s no human language it speaks. It’s just pure anger and rage.”