After three weeks and 484 pushups, a local woman completed a challenge for post traumatic stress disorder. Andrea Siquiera took on the “22 Pushups in 22 Days” challenge through August.
After three weeks and 484 pushups, a local woman completed a challenge for post traumatic stress disorder.
Andrea Siquiera took on the “22 Pushups in 22 Days” challenge through August. Coined the “Ice Bucket Challenge of 2016,” the campaign aims to raise awareness of post traumatic stress disorder in veterans – statistically 22 vets commit suicide each day.
When one of her friends sent her a social media challenge to join the movement, Siqueira took to the Internet to research what it was all about. She said she hadn't been aware PTSD was such a large issue among veterans.
“When I do something I like to make it more of a meaningful thing to me, not just doing it,” said Siqueira. “I saw the videos on YouTube of people doing their pushups, and not just regular people but also police and army, and I thought this was something I should look into and do it.”
Working and living under stressful and dangerous conditions takes its toll on people mentally, she said, and can lead to deep depression and other issues.
Like many mental health disorders, the worldwide PTSD problem often goes unnoticed, she said. She wanted to do her part to bring the issue to the forefront.
“We take these people for granted, so I think it's really important to raise awareness,” said Siqueira. “If there's a way to help raise funds for mental health services to prevent these people from committing suicide, we should be doing this.”
Through the past 22 days, Siqueira found different places to complete her daily rounds of 22 pushups, from her home to the Sheep River valley, and even on vacation. Her favourite was on a ferry from Vancouver to Victoria.
Having just completed the Lululemon Half Marathon in Vancouver, Siqueira was heading to the Island for a mini-vacation to celebrate her 24th wedding anniversary with husband Terry.
“I said, “I have to do my pushup challenge, so why don't I do it here?'” said Siqueira. “I thought it was so beautiful on the ferry, on the water, and you're just waiting on the ferry so we might as well do something to raise awareness as well, but I didn't want to do it alone.”
So she rallied the support of a woman she had met on the boat, who happened to be the coach of a women's Florida Atlantic basketball team. The team had just finished a game in Vancouver and was travelling to Victoria.
Most of the girls had heard of the challenge and the issues with PTSD, and they took to Siqueira's request to join her for 22 pushups on the ferry deck.
At the end of her commitment, Siqueira said she has learned a lot more about PTSD, but she has also overcome a lot of personal obstacles. An avid runner and yoga enthusiast, pushups are not something that make it into her regular fitness routines.
With a frozen left shoulder, she wasn't sure she'd be able to handle proper pushups. After doing several days' worth from her knees, she eventually moved up to full pushups.
“It's been fun, it's been hard,” said Siqueira. “This was an exciting journey to know I learned how to do a proper pushup, even though I don't go all the way down because my shoulder won't allow it.”
Her last set of 22 pushups was done at the Okotoks Fire Station on Aug. 30, with firefighters and Okotoks Fire Chief Ken Thevenot. Siqueira said she wanted to make the last day of the challenge even more meaningful.
“I talked to Fire Chief Ken and he said it is a real issue and a problem for fire and police and EMS, so it affects these people who serve our community,” said Siqueira. “I think doing my last one with these guys, it will make it more meaningful and not just Andrea doing pushups.”
Thevenot said he was impressed with Siqueira for trying to bring awareness to PTSD issues, which he said are fairly common among all first responders as well as veterans.
Every situation and emergency can affect different people in different ways, he said. It's difficult to know how a person will really react under stress, and depending on their personal situations or past circumstances some may be more inclined to be struck by PTSD, he said.
“There's a number of different triggers and symptoms for PTSD,” said Thevenot. “It could be a long career, it could be a short career that you run into different events, it could be kids, it could be older people.”
To ensure his crew is taken care of, Thevenot checks in with the team from time to time, raises awareness of PTSD within his fire department, and watches for changes in behaviour.
“We would also have debriefings after major events,” he said. “For example, if we had a Fort Mac here that could really impact the community like that, then you could have post traumatic so they would hold debriefings.”
The Province has also identified the importance of recognizing PTSD, he said. In 2012, Bill 1 was amended to change the worker's compensation act so that firefighters, police officers, sheriffs and paramedics can receive treatment for PTSD without having to prove their condition is work-related, he said.
“Alberta would be the first province in Canada at that time to have such coverage for their first responders,” said Thevenot. “So it is very important ot bring awareness to this post-traumatic stress disorder.”
For more information about PTSD among Canadian veterans, to donate to the cause or join the “22 Pushups in 22 Days” challenge, visit woundedwarriors.ca/ways-to-give/22-push-ups/
