Retired Master Cpl. Natacha Dupuis has found salvation at the track and now she’s preaching to others about the power of sport.
Dupuis, a 16-year veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces, has been named co-captain Canada’s team for the Invictus Games coming to Toronto in 2017. The games, founded by Prince Harry in 2014, are an international competition for military personnel who have been injured or sickened during their service.
Dupuis returned from a second tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2009, struggling with post-traumatic stress after witnessing an armoured vehicle explode behind her while on patrol just north of Kandahar.
Her close friends Trooper Jack Bouthillier and Trooper Corey Hayes were inside and both were killed. Three others were seriously injured. Dupuis was one of the first responders tending to the wounded. The shock and horror left Dupuis permanently scarred.
“I went to help one, only to realize he was dead,” she said.
When she came home, she constantly relived the incident in nightmares and panic attacks. She isolated herself from family and friends for two years.
“My brain shut down, everything shut down. There was no more life into those eyes. I was completely broken,” she said.
But sport has helped put her life back together again.
With encouragement from friends, she decided to train for the Invictus Games held in Orlando last year. Little did she know she would be part of a challenge issued by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to U.S. President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and Kensington Palace ahead of the those games.
Dupuis was shown along the PM doing push-ups in a widely circulated video.
The Quebec resident went on to compete in powerlifting and the 100- and 200-metre sprints, dedicating her three-medal performance to her comrades lost in Afghanistan.
“I remember crossing the line, winning gold, and the first thing I saw as I looked up... you know, it was for them,” she said.
Organizers are now gearing up for Toronto’s turn to host the games next September, launching a volunteer application portal this week to coincide with Remembrance Day.
The event is expected to attract 550 to 600 competitors from 17 nations, says Michael Burns, CEO of Invictus Games Toronto 2017.
The veterans chosen to represent their country may not be the best athletes, Burns told CTV’s Your Morning.
“They are being selected because the games are going to have the most benefit for them. These are men and women who are typically today struggling to get out of bed. They are having challenges at home with their relationships with family and friends or they’re trying to find meaningful employment after service.”
He said, while the Invictus Games are about sports, they really serve as therapy to struggling vets who will get to wear their flag and be part of a supportive team of athletes and coaches again.
“And also they are going to have, which they often lose when they leave the service, they are going to have a mission and a purpose again.”
Volunteer Caroline McIntosh said she’s taking part because she’s a proud Dutch-Canadian and the Dutch people have never forgotten the sacrifice of Canadian soldiers in liberating the Netherlands.
“And in being a Canadian citizen, a daughter of Canada if you will, I felt I needed to give back and pay tribute to that legacy. I am the legacy of the Canadian soldiers.”
As for Dupuis, she says a reward far greater than any medal is the possibility sharing her story may help someone else.
“I try telling my story in the hope that maybe it can help someone get out of the dark place they may be in.”
With a report from CTV’s Kevin Gallagher
