Local hero hikes for those with PTSD
- Alicia Gallant
- 27 Oct 2019
Paramedics do so much for the communities they serve, and yet much of the community doesn’t offer the same support for paramedics. The people who are often the first responders in a crisis situation often don’t feel they can turn to anyone in their moments of crisis.
Over 20% of paramedics will experience PTSD, which stands for post-traumatic stress disorder, over the course of their career. Paramedics also experience the highest rates of PTSD amongst all other first responders, according to recent data from the Centre For Suicide Prevention.
Hiking For Heroes is looking to change the services available for paramedics living with PTSD.
Ron Sonoda is a hero himself who, as someone living with PTSD, has experienced first-hand what it’s like to not have the proper resources to deal with his mental health. He was a paramedic for the Peel district for about 20 years, and he too knows the depths of how PTSD can be a direct result from the experiences paramedics have on a daily basis. Sonoda was diagnosed with PTSD in 2011, and ended up finding solace in the outdoors.
While in the depths of his suffering, Sonoda would witness firsthand how powerful PTSD can be. He worked alongside Martin Wood, a paramedic who would find himself in the throes of PTSD and who sadly lost his life to the disorder in 2016. It was hard for Sonoda to lose a friend to something he lived with, and in this loss, he discovered a way to battle his own demons.
Sonoda said of his dear friend on his Hiking For Heroes Go Fund Me page: “I didn’t know how sick you were – you never told me – I never reached out to you to learn about your deep suffering. I still find it difficult believing how YOU ended – a numbered statistic – a HEROES death by suicide.”
Wood loved hiking and walking trails like Sonoda does. He had a lot of collectibles that marked his travels, including a beat-up coffee mug, according to Sonoda.
On Sonoda’s Go Fund Me page to raise money for his Hiking For Heroes mission, he said “I want to live – I’m sick and tired from tragedy, loss, and good-bye.” He found his way to live through discovering the outdoors and the breathtaking trails within Hamilton and beyond; the Bruce Trail.
Sonoda also reported that in the year he lost his friend Martin, which was 2016, there were 68 other paramedics that committed suicide. It’s unclear whether or not it was due to PTSD or a similar disorder or mental illness, but the number is upsetting nonetheless.
Earlier in September, Sonoda walked the Bruce Trail, which expands over 900 km, to remember his friend and to hike towards a greater future to the heroes in our community who need an outlet. He does this every year as a PTSD Hiking For Heroes challenge, and the end goal is to become a Forestry Therapy Guide. He wants to develop a therapy program for those living with PTSD to immerse themselves in nature and find the beauty in the life surrounding them.
When speaking with Caledon Enterprise, Sonoda said of his Forestry Therapy “The sense I got communicating with others (first responders), it is one thing to sit in a clinician’s chair and talk about what has happened to them […] but talking with people who have worn the t-shirt […] these people will be able to respond and communicate in a way that will empower the personal care we need.”
Sonoda’s methods are revolutionary and pioneering, but something could be said for how this alternative form of therapy correlates with scientific evidence that being active and being around peers can help in the recovery process. It offers an option for those who may not feel comfortable going the traditional routes of therapy, which includes sitting with a mental health professional in a room and having to talk about things that are hard to process.
According to the Centre for Suicide Prevention, PTSD can be caused by a traumatic event or events, which many paramedics will experience daily. Some of the signs of PTSD include loss of interest, disassociation, disturbed sleep, and avoidance behaviours. It can be a troubling thing to diagnose as there is an unnecessary and invalid sense of shame and weakness that society places on those living with PTSD. Because of this, many don’t come forward, and for paramedics, it’s a part of their job to intervene in traumatic situations.
The story of Sonoda finding an ambitious endeavor out of darkness and sadness has been inspiring to many. There’s hope to be found in Sonoda’s passion and in his perseverance, as well as his openness regarding his own PTSD. You can follow Sonoda’s journey on his Go Fund Me page, where he is seeking donations to help make his Forestry Therapy Guide come to fruition.
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