A dream can mean coming out of the darkness of mental health issues...

Today is National Mental Health Day and for those who suffer from mental health issues, having a dream, being fired up and excited are not emotions they generally feel.

Medric Cousineau is a retired Captain from the Air Force. He was a recipient of the Star of Courage.
He has a wonderful wife - a beautiful bevy of daughters and suffers from PTSD.

Medric knows and understands what it is like to have a dark cloud fill your brain, to feel hopeless, helpless but that cloud of gloom has lifted from his life and he now ha a dream, a passion, a fire and he is eager to share that with others.  So what happened? Why the change, the shift? (Read his Press Release)

Enter one gorgeous lady into his life. Thai, a Golden Retriever PTSD Service Dog.

Last year the Royal Canadian Legion in Eastern Passage NS sponsored Medric to go to Kansas and get a CARES service dog. We here at the Busted Knuckle Chronicles helped out with a donation of patches for Medric to sell to aide him on his trip.  That trip was a game changer, a life saver, for Medric and his family.

Medric, Thai and Medric's training partner Brenda Andersen(who happens to be blind)
 and her service dog - Noble 

Medric and Thai after over 1000 Km's of long walks

Thai has brought into his life, a way for Medric to control the dark moments. Stay Calm and Walk the Dog...it's simple, it's effective and he and Thai have already walked over 1,000 Kilometres.

Medric is so thrilled with the changes in his life - and so is his family.
In fact, they are so pleased that Medric now wants to support other veterans in their quest to a semblance of sanity - normalcy if there is such a thing.

Vic Remillard was a veteran of Afghanistan, he lived in the NWT with his wife and their 5 children.  Sadly for Vic and his family, he couldn't live with the pain in his brain, the darkness and he took his life last July.

I had introduced Kristy (Vic's wife) to Medric via emails and it was decided that a Foundation would be started in Vic's name and although the family has not had the time to get that foundation set up as of yet, there are going to be some positive things come out of Vic's suicide.

I also introduced Kristy to Lou of the Heroes Highway Ride, as one of the hopes of the Remillard family is to have Vic's remains taken down the Highway of Heroes.

My Conga this year is centred around remembering the sacrifices of our military of the allied forces - it is called Bikers United in Remembrance.  We are going to be raising money and awareness for three causes - one was to be helping the Remillard family in raising money for service dogs.

It has been agreed to by all parties that the funds I raise this year will go to Medric and his "Long Walk to Sanity" and his efforts to raise the funds for 50 dogs for 50 vets in 50 days and be donated in Vic's name. The other two causes we are supporting will be the Military Police Relay Ride for Blind Children and VETS - Veterans Emergency Transition Services.

At the Heroes Highway Ride on June 1st 2013, you will get to meet members of the Remillard Family as Vic's ashes are taken down the Highway of Heroes, you will get to meet Medric and his service dog Thai and you will meet a ton of people who are working hard to keep the memories of those who are gone from us alive, to make a difference in the lives of those who have served our country...

You are going to meet people who are living out their dreams - pursuing their goals and working for the betterment of humanity.

Join Medric at Paws Fur Thoughts on Facebook  follow him on Twitter @pawsfurthought1
Or follow his blog on our web site...

The riding community is filled with passionate people, and when they embrace a cause - they do miraculous things and I am so grateful to be in the position to share with you the dreams, the ideals and the goals of so many fabulous people - and they are fabulous because of their warts and bumps not in spite of them.

Do you know of any other community where so many people who share similar goals can come together and work long distance this way?
Work together, share, and celebrate each other and their goals?

In my world, Dreams and Heroes come in all shapes and sizes and they ride all brands, all models and all colours of motorcycles... Our community is blessed and as a result, our world is a better place.

As we get ready to begin the 11th Anniversary celebrations of The Busted Knuckle Chronicles, Canada's ONLY weekly newspaper for motorcyclists I want to offer up a quote I shared today on the Newspaper's Facebook Page - for you all to ponder:

Dream no small dreams for they have no power to move the hearts of men. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

I dared to dream of a community that communicated with and supported each other the way we used to when we were a much smaller community and guess what, we are doing that - sharing, communicating and working together...Pat Savage dared to dream of a Travel Show for the riding community - and it's happening.  A baker in California dreamed of being the best cake maker in the business and found another passion (that of riding) thanks to his dreams...

Lou DeVuono and Graeme Hume had a dream of celebrating our military here in Canada with a ride and rally that would be free for Canadians and others to attend...the HHR is one of the largest rides of its kind in Canada.

 Medric dreamt of finding a way out of the darkness and he now has another dream - helping others find the way out. 

What's your dream?  What steps are you taking to see it come true? If you want to share it with the rest of the community - get in touch with me.... bdbetty @ gmail.com (fix the spaces)

Let's rally the riding community around the dreams and goals of those who are working diligently to make a difference... Join me on Facebook at our brand New Fan Page.

I leave you with a few funnies shared with me by friends on Facebook and via emails...

Have a fabulous day and remember - today is Mental Health Day - never judge another as you do not know what their journey is all about or how heavy their burden really is...

Belt Drive Betty
Editor & Rider