Mary Lee

Special to The Record

Beverly Skwernuik is no stranger to charity cycling events.

The veteran Boomer Bike Ride participant - three times over - and MS Ride cyclist will gladly pedal hundreds of kilometers for a cause, particularly if it involves breathtaking scenery, unbeatable team comradery and builds public awareness, not to mention the incredible fitness benefits it offers.

Skwernuik is about to check off all the boxes on her list with this next cycling feat, the 2017 Battlefield Ride for Wounded Warriors Canada. She will be one of 150 Canadians to pedal 600 kilometres beginning June 9 from London, England, finishing at to the Canadian National Vimy Memorial on June 17.

For Skwernuik, the distance is more than double that of the annual Boomer鈥檚 Comox to Victoria ride, her longest cycle to date. And while the mileage and location attracts Skwernuik to the challenge, they are not the real motivator for her decision to join the Wounded Warriors event.

鈥淢y love of biking for fun and fitness is a bit more heartfelt with this particular fundraiser,鈥� explained Skwernuik. 鈥淚 know that any perceived hardship of the ride pales in comparison to what any soldier signs up to do.鈥�

Not just any soldier. Skwernuik is referring specifically to veterans of more recent conflicts in Canadian military history such as Afghanistan, Somalia and Bosnia.

Organized by Wounded Warrior Canada, the Battlefield Ride is an event designed to help injured veterans, first responders and their families, a community Skwernuik never had an affiliation with.

鈥淚 did not grow up knowing any serving soldiers or veterans. My interactions really began working near two military installations, here and, previously, in Edmonton,鈥� she explains.

As optometrists, Skwernuik and her husband have served many military clientele with their two practices located here in the Comox Valley. Later, through her participation in the Boomer鈥檚 Bike Ride, Skwernuik became increasing more aware of their hardship from deployments, many suffering from hidden wounds including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Skwernuik shares a similar experience that is not isolated to the military community. She suffered acute symptoms of mefloquine neurotoxicity - the physical and mental side effects resulting from using an anti-malaria drug. Skwernuik was prescribed the drug in 1998 before travelling to southeast Asia.

Her experience led Skwernuik down a path of discovery about the drug鈥檚 use and its misunderstanding among medical communities. As she explains, there was a wide use of mefloquine among militaries of commonwealth nations deploying into high-risk regions for malaria, and yet before extensive drug testing or research had been properly conducted.

鈥淭he symptoms of mefloquine injury can mimic those associated with PTSD and may be contributing to either misdiagnoses or ineffective treatments for those permanent symptoms that last long after they discontinue the drug.鈥�

Fortunate for Skwernuik, she had the choice, as a civilian traveler, to discontinue the drug and switch to a more comfortable alternative anti-malarial when the side effects became too debilitating.

鈥淢ost soldiers do not have such a luxury and were expected to remain on mefloquine for the duration of their deployments.鈥�

Skwernuik now affiliates herself with a community of advocates trying to bring greater awareness about the drug to the public, government agencies and lobbyists who can act for improving regulation. Today, after three years of working with a team of veterans, politicians, journalists, medical experts, and other supporters both across Canada and internationally, Skwernuik has a far greater appreciation for veterans suffering and struggles.

鈥淭hat struggle is real. As a non-veteran, we are afraid to go into that world. It鈥檚 not our place to interfere with the affairs of military or veterans, but they do need our help,鈥� shares Skwernuik. 鈥淲ith this bike ride I just want to show that we do care, Canadians care, the Comox Valley cares.鈥�

Her team, consisting of just one rider, herself, is backed by an international community of advocates cheering her valiant efforts from behind the scenes. She must raise $4,000, all of which is donated to Wounded Warriors Canada.

Along with Skwernuik, participants from the local region, throughout Vancouver Island and from across Canada will converge in England to begin a historically educational, emotionally inspirational and physically demanding bike ride, each cycling for their own goals, their own reasons. For Skwernuik, the ride holds its own special meaning.

鈥淭o be able to incorporate my love for travel and biking with the addition of veteran advocacy is just, well, the icing on the cake.鈥�

Donations can be made to Beverly Skwernuik through the Wounded Warrior Battlefield Bike Ride website at http://woundedwarriors.ca/bbr17/ Click on Sponsor a Rider and enter a participant鈥檚 name.