Kate MacEachern has survived many challenges, including a job as tanker and corporal in the Canadian Armed Forces for eight years, a lifetime around and in the fire service along with physical injuries such as a broken neck, spinal cord injuries and a fractured scull.
Her family was informed Kate would be in a vegetative state indefinitely after an accident. This tenacious woman got out of that bed and walked out of the hospital nine days later.
Kate survived a stroke resulting from her injuries, but when she recovered she returned to work in the army. Knowing the effects of physical injuries and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder first hand, Kate walked over 500 kilometres to raise more than $20,000 for a disabled soldiers’ fund close to home in the Maritimes. Since 2012, Kate has completed two walks and is currently part of the way through her third, final and longest journey.
She started in Nipawin and travelling through Alberta she will finish at Chilliwack, B.C. The crew, including MacEachern’s 12-year-old son Tyler, stopped in Bresaylor for the night May 12.
The Long Way Home team members were treated to a potluck supper hosted by Velma Foster of Bresaylor. In the morning Tish Boychuck, one of the supper guests and a Paynton village councillor, joined Kate on her walk from Bresaylor to Paynton. Kate is a brisk walker, so even with a break, the crew covered 13.6 kilometres in just under three hours.
I was honoured to break bread with the group at The Purple Palace in Paynton for lunch. I was able to learn more about why these people are walking and advocating for this cause and how wide spread the PTSD issue is.
PTSD is as old as time, but a stigma has been put onto mental health issues making people feel weak for seeking help or even admitting that they have a problem in the first place. In many cases, when left untreated, PTSD can lead to suicide as the effects are so powerful.
A young boy was at the Purple Palace and asked Tyler, “What is PTSD?” Tyler responded, “It is basically like having bad dreams, even when you are awake.” This is the short answer but you can learn more about PTSD and treatments at TheLongWayHome.ca or check out The NASH Project’s website.
The NASH project, based in Nipawin, works to match rescued animals with PTSD survivors. Taking in dogs and horses, rescued from many different circumstances, the people of NASH rehabilitate these rescued animals and train them to recognize the symptoms of PTSD, to soothe their companion before going into a full blown episode.
PTSD is a mental health condition that's triggered by a terrifying event — either experiencing it or witnessing it. Symptoms may include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety, as well as uncontrollable thoughts about the event. (Mayo Clinic).
The journey through PTSD is all about learning to live with a new normal.
Alpha K9, Paws Fur Thought, the NASH Project and Wounded Warrior Weekend are this year’s beneficiaries of The Long Way Home’s fundraising efforts. Without these and many more important therapy providers, PTSD survivors would not be thriving the way they are today. With dog, equine, wind and many other types of therapy out there, survivors of traumatic events have options as this is not a one size fits all type of treatment.
This year, MacEachern’s includes NASH project founder Cedar (Rebecca) Santana and her daughter Emily Freeman. These two know all too well the effects of PTSD as Emily has endured great injuries and will always be grateful to her mother and her horses who have helped her cope with this debilitating disorder.
Also along to help out are Jo (Gunny) Gilliland, former artillery tech for the PPLI, now driving the truck and RV, and Lisa Peterson, who is driving the horse trailer and truck. She also helps take care of the horses along with the walkers.
All six have endured the effects of PTSD in some form and have come out the other side as advocates spreading this important message. The timing couldn’t have been more poignant as Paynton and area have recently lost a special member of our community to a tragic motor vehicle accident leaving behind her family who were in the van with her at the time of the accident.
Vinessa Currie-Foster will always be remembered by our community and her loss has been felt far and wide as she was an amazing force to be reckoned with. Vinessa would have been there to support Kate and the walkers, but in a way, she did at Bresaylor on May 12. Vinessa was the driving force behind building a clay oven to help increase tourism at Bresaylor Museum. She also planned to have school trips come through to use the oven when visiting the museum. This oven was lit in Vinessas’s honour and cooked food for The Long Way Home crew along with their supporters, proving Vinessa’s legacy lives on and will continue to do so for some time.
Please go to Kate ’s website, Facebook or Twitter page to find out more about how you can support this dedicated team. Along with donating money, you can also buy t-shirts and other memorabilia, join the shopping network posted on her site to save while you support or participate in events like Wheels For Our Wounded which kicks off May 30 in Nisku, Alta. just outside of Edmonton. Wheels for Our Wounded helps veterans and first responders get the wheels they need to regain some freedom and independence in their lives.
Kate and her team use the term survivors for people with PTSD, not sufferers or victims. After surviving a trauma, it is natural for a person to re-live the event and also acceptable to seek treatment for this side effect of trauma. If you know someone or are someone with anxiety, nightmares and flashbacks due to a situation you endured or witnessed, please get help so you can live your life, not only surviving, but thriving. You can see where Kate and the crew will be next on their website TheLongWayHome.ca. United we stand.
