The only thing I want is quality care. My greatest dream is to be able to do what I could before I joined the Canadian Forces: run a marathon. If I could get up in the morning and go to work, like a regular person, I would be the happiest man in the world. All I want is my health back.
The impetus for my hunger strike was the fact that I was sick and tired of seeing my comrades in arms kill themselves because they were told that all their problems were in their heads. The Department of Veterans Affairs has a tendency of treating only psychological problems and turning a blind eye to our physical problems. How do you explain the fact that most veterans of our generation are being told that their problems are all in their heads, and yet they're walking around with a limp or a cane. If it's all in our minds, why do our bodies hurt so much?
We want recognition and treatment. That is the only thing I am fighting for. All of my outings have been solely for the purpose of seeking treatment. If you can give me treatment, I will be the happiest man in the world. I don't want to meet with psychiatrists at the Matrix clinic, like I was forced to last year, meetings during which I was told my pain was purely psychosomatic. No, that's not the case. I want treatment for my body, please. Leave my head alone. I am able to manage my post-traumatic stress disorder with the help of my psychologist. Can you treat the body as well?
If they give me treatment, I will be the happiest man in the world, and believe me, as a veteran, I will stand up and go out to find my comrades in arms to tell them the road to success is here. I will bring them myself so they can get better too.