Brent Worrall, author, mental health advocate and a T3 complete paraplegic, will be hand-cycling 400 kilometres from Swift Current to Humboldt to create awareness around PTSD and Mental Health related issues. 

Worrall was an avid motocrosser but was injured while performing. 

“[I] was injured in a pretty horrific motocross crash eleven years ago; I flew 130 feet in the air. I landed on my head, and to add insult to injury the bike flew up another 30 feet in the air and came down to land on me and leave me with this complete spinal cord injury.”

Following the injury, Worrall became deeper involved in the sport as an announcer and a writer, he explained. 

Coming out of his struggles; through therapy and various other healing methods, he found that challenging himself helps his healing process. 

“Being a person who has Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), but living the recovery aspect has kinda precipitated me to want to accelerate the process. One way I find my healing accelerates is through challenging myself by setting long-term goals, like this road to Humboldt,” said Worrall.

He calls it a Mental Health Awareness Ride and will start his tour from the Saskatchewan Hockey Hall of Fame in Swift Current on September 7 at 11:00 am. 

“I’ve been working on [the tour] since last October, physically training for it. It’s quite a challenge, but I am probably going to ride 80 - 90 Kilometers a day.”

He says healing is much like physical training for the ride; it’s a daily commitment for those with PTSD to “soldier on forward”. He says this tour and sharing his story helps him move forward and hopes it inspires others to seek help and heal. 

His tour will conclude Monday, September 12, around 12:30 pm ending at the Humboldt Curling Club. He encourages the people of Humboldt to come and finish the ride off with him. 

“I am hopeful that as many of you as possible, will come out to walk, run, or ride alongside.”

After his arrival, around 1:00 pm, Worrall will share his journey with everyone, telling of his struggles and how he has healed and continues to heal. 

“I’ve met a few of the people from the City of Humboldt, and I want to meet more. That’s been one of my goals, is to be able to extend a hand and meet some faces and show people what somebody who has overcome something that, y’know, maybe isn’t the most comfortable thing to talk about has done and what it looks like today.”

“We believe that by sharing this effort with others, it will allow them to realize, that if help is required, it is okay to be not okay. I am also hopeful that by sharing, others will realize that they are not alone, and that they matter too. We all do.”

To learn more about Worrall and his story, make sure to visit the Humboldt Curling Club on September 12, or visit his website.