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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, April 3, 2014 | 30 Great Oakville Pursuit to end silence on mental illness by Nathan Howes Special to the Beaver Health "Connected to your Community" The second annual Great Oakville Pursuit aims to break the silence about youth mental illness. The Amazing Race-style event on April 25, hosted by the Oakville Provincial Youth Advisory Committee (OPYAC), will pit teams from local high schools against one another. Students will be given clues and will use Oakville Transit to get to different locations, which will have activities that encourage students to raise awareness about youth mental health. A kickoff to promote the upcoming event was held at Town Hall on March 25. Local mental health agencies were also on hand to educate students. "This is such an important issue. It's gaining some traction now with people starting to pay attention. My generation tended to hide these things, as you didn't talk about the relative who was dealing with this type of issue," said Oakville MPP and Minister of Labour Kevin Flynn, who also chairs OPYAC. Keynote speaker Kendra Fisher -- Team Canada Inline goaltender and former member of Team Canada's national hockey program -- shared her story of living with mental illness. Fisher's journey began shortly after she broke her back in a car accident in 1998. At the time, she said she was "feeling off." "It would feel like I couldn't swallow, I couldn't breathe and it would go into my chest. My heart would feel like it was just coming out of my chest," said Fisher. "I felt like I was going to pass out and I couldn't catch my breath. My arms would go numb." After a brief hospitalization failed to yield results or fixes, Fisher visited a handful of doctors and specialists. Each told her she was fine, the goalie said. "Unfortunately, at this point, the timing wasn't so good. I was just getting ready to head off to Team Canada tryouts in Calgary," said Fisher. In 1999, Fisher was offered a spot on the Team Canada roster, but turned it down because of her health. She said it was the "most memorable moment of my life for everything that I want to forget because the answer was no." "The coaches that day asked me, `Would it help any to know that I made the team?' It didn't matter and it didn't help. It hurt that much more that I was walking away from it," said Fisher. "I had just walked away from the only dream I had ever known and the only thing I ever wanted to do. I had no idea what to do next." Fisher spent two weeks in intensive therapy, but it only addressed the issue temporarily, she noted. A visit to her psychologist revealed she was suffering from clinical depression, severe anxiety disorder, severe panic disorder, agoraphobia and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). "I couldn't be alone, I couldn't work, I dropped out of school and I couldn't go back to Team Canada. This was my life," said Fisher. "After about five years of this, I realized I didn't see a point in this life." She said she had a choice to make ­ she could accept "there was no point" or she could find a way to "make this better." She chose the latter. The Great Oakville Pursuit kick-off was held March 25 at Oakville Town Hall. A dozen local mental health agencies set up booths to highlight services and provide information. The event is organized by the Ontario Parliamentary Youth Advisory Committee (OPYAC), chaired by Minister of Labour and Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn. It aims to help break the silence on youth mental health issues. From left, Jennifer Opper, Lea Zamuner and Michelle Kerby, of the Oakville Hospital Foundation, and OPYAC members Alisa Torano and Katherine Bailey. | photo by Inger MacKenzie ­ special to the Beaver The mental-health advocate took up yoga and went to a nutritionist and naturopathic doctor to improve her health, which it did. When eating healthily at least 80 per cent of time, she said, "I actually had better moods." Fisher then turned her life around -- getting a new job and making the Canadian inline hockey team, which won the 2012 World Inline Hockey Championship. She then wanted to help others with mental illness, becoming a public speaker and telling her story. "I don't want to be quiet. I don't want to be one of those people, who aren't helping others realize how common this is and how real it is. We need to talk about this," said Fisher. "I live very happily with this. It's not cured, but I know how to cope with it." Isn't It About Time For A Hearing Test??? Come And Visit An Independent, Caring Family Hearing Aid Clinic All Services, Sales, Hearing Tests, Programming, Repairs, Batteries, Home Visits Jennifer Nolan Wendy Caswell Volunteers needed Helping Families Every Step of the Way! The Canadian Cancer Society Halton unit is looking for volunteers for Daffodil Month. Held during April, the month-long campaign supports Canadian living with cancer. "It's a time when thousands of volunteers across Ontario work together to raise funds by selling daffodil pins. Volunteers can give as little as two hours to make a big difference," stated a news release. Volunteers are needed to sell daffodil pins from today (Thursday) to Sunday (April 6) and at select locations from Thursday, April 10-Sunday, April 13. Site co-ordinators are also needed at Oakville, Burlington, and Milton sites. For more information or to sign up, visit http://vhub.at/1W4MRRY, or contact Kelly at 905-845-5231 or kmclaughlin@ontario.cancer.ca. 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