When presented with the chance to attend a camp to help him work through some mental-health issues, Capt. Dale Lundy of Salt Spring Island Fire Rescue thought of a handful of his colleagues who were better choices.
But when he ultimately took the opportunity to attend Camp My Way, located near D'Arcy, it was a worthwhile experience.
"I could think of four other people off the top of my head who could utilize the experience more than I, not that I didn't need it," Lundy said. "(Salt Spring's chief) said, I think it would be good for you because you would embrace whatever it is that was being offered and be able bring something back to our community and our department."
Though not officially diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Lundy had experienced a tough decade as his older brother committed suicide in 2010 at age 49, then in 2013, a colleague at the fire department died of brain cancer at age 35. The following year, his father passed and shortly after, he went through a divorce. He started speaking with a professional around this time, but his time at the camp last June helped Lundy take another step forward.
"It was totally out of my comfort zone. I wasn't ready to go spend a week in the woods figuring my shit out, if you will," he said. "It was really a life-changing time up there for me, not only for what I experienced, but for the other campers and what they were going through."
Lundy, a 28-year veteran of the force, learned new breathing exercises and how to meditate over the course of one week at the camp. Also included in the visit was plenty of exercise in the form of running, push-ups, canoeing, and archery.
The camp was founded by executive director Terrance Kosikar, one of the first responders when Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili died in an accident at the Whistler Sliding Centre in the lead-up to the 2010 Winter Olympic Games. When dealing with the fallout, Kosikar experienced addiction, homelessness and suicidal thoughts as a result of PTSD. He has started to turn his life around, becoming an advocate for first responders and raising awareness through events in which he flips a 400-pound (181-kilogram) tractor tire.
Camp My Way's latest endeavour, the First Responder Family Fundraiser, is set for this Saturday, June 1 in Vancouver. The event will begin at the Olympic Cauldron at Jack Poole Plaza at 11 a.m. before making its way to Stanley Park for tire flipping along the Seawall. It will be a worldwide affair, as satellite events as far away as North Carolina and Germany are planned.
In an email, Capt. Michael Wehle of the Bonn/Cologne Airport Fire Department noted Germany has much better PTSD care and far fewer suicides by first responders. He said it's important to support their colleagues overseas.
"This is the reason why we help our brothers in Canada and we do this event also. All our brothers in the world should do this," he wrote.
At the local event, in addition to several first responders and search-and-rescue volunteers coming from across the province to attend, members of Vancouver's Georgian community are also expected to lend their support. Kosikar had a meeting with Ambassador Konstantin Kavtaradze and several other Georgians in which he was embraced and felt relief after bearing guilt from Kumaritashvili's death.
Kosikar is looking to raise $10,000, which would allow for two first responders and their partners to come to camp for a week, as well as to buy a canoe and other outdoor equipment. With the next camp slated for late June, Kosikar is glad to fill some more demand after the camp welcomed 57 people over the course of six week-long sessions, but added that he receives several messages a week from people looking for help.
"I get anywhere from eight to 12 messages a week from people wanting and needing to come up to the camp," he said. "The fire department's not going to pay for it. WCB (Work Safe BC) is not going to pay for it.
"They've exhausted all their money. They've lost their family. They've lost their jobs. They have nothing. That's why it's so important ... By the time you need help, you can't afford it."
In addition to wanting to bring in more people who need the services, Kosikar also wants to host them for longer.
"Our ultimate goal is to be up and running year-round (with) 100 acres of land (with) 30-, 60-, 90-day programs allowing the campers a lot more time to settle into their environment, use the tools that we're sharing them," he said.
Lundy will be in attendance this Saturday alongside his girlfriend. He has collected $1,000 and should be well on his way to his goal of $1,500 when he catches the ferry to the mainland.
That morning, as with every other, Lundy will apply his major takeaways from Camp My Way: meditation, gratitude and forgiveness as necessary.
"I don't have to forgive every day, but there are certain things that I'm definitely hanging onto that I have to let go of," he said. "The bigger part of my morning routine is just thinking about the things I'm grateful for in my life."
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