Police officer walking Sea to Sea to raise awareness of PTSD

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on April 16, 2022.

Sea to Sea photo by Natasha Johnston Sea to Sea for PTSD walker Chad Kennedy, at right in vest, makes his way through Lethbridge escorted by Sheriffs Brown and Berube and mayor Blaine Hyggen and others Friday morning along Highway 3 coing into the city.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

Sea to Sea for PTSD walker Chad Kennedy made his way through Lethbridge Friday morning to raise awareness and break the stigma associated with PSTD amongst first responders and Military communities.
“Today’s been actually really exciting, we had a great walk through Lethbridge with really amazing people. It was good to see thepolice chief and fire chief and mayor join us for a portion of the walk, and the local support through the emergency services was outstanding,” said Kennedy.
Kennedy, who started the walk in Cranbrook, British Columbia on April 2, said that before arriving in Lethbridge he was in Fort Macleod after being stranded in Blairmore for a few days.
“The way it was supposed to work was, we would have left Blairmore on Monday and walked straight through, however Mother Nature decided to throw us a couple of blizzards in the Crowsnest Pass,” said Kennedy.
He said due to the time spent in Blairemore, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday he had to make up time by driving, to arrive on the schedule times arranged with each community, since he was scheduled to be in Lethbridge and Taber on Friday.
“The walking portions that we can’t do, we do make up all our kilometres in communities as we go along,” said Kennedy.
He said he will be walking around Taber over the long weekend to make up for the kilometres missed up to arriving to Taber.
“Monday we’re back on a regular schedule, we’ll start the full walk from Taber up towards Brooks on Hwy 36 and walk the rest of the way unless Mother Nature dictates again what happens to us,” said Kennedy.
Kennedy said by Friday next week the goal is to be in Medicine Hat and from there on to Saskatchewan on his journey to St. John Newfoundland.
He said he never thought in his darkest hour an idea to walk across Canada would come to him.
“In 2018 I was diagnosed with cumulative post-traumatic stress through traumas that I had encountered as an Alberta Sheriff Highway Patrol member,” said Kennedy.
He said he was one of the first responders on scene of the Columbia Icefield bus crash in July 18, 2020 which flared up his PTSD.
“I was very, I think frustrated would be the term, that nobody understood what I was going through emotionally and mentally, and I said man we need to raise more awareness amongst our first responders, our public and our military communities about post-traumatic stress,” said Kennedy.
He said he wanted to remind people that first responders and soldiers are first and foremost human beings and are not designed to see the stuff they see in order to keep everybody else safe.
Kennedy said the bus crash was basically the straw that broke the camel’s back and pushed him into doing something.
“I don’t know why it ever came to light during my darkest hour that I would do such an extreme thing, but a lot of that had to do with telling myself that I am going to do something about post-traumatic stress versus allowing post-traumatic stress to run my life,” said Kennedy.

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