Fundraising swim to aid mental health

Dylan Rumsey has two goals to accomplish as he prepares to swim from Queenston to the mouth of the Niagara River in August — to raise money for much-needed mental health programs for youth, and to bring change to the way people with mental health issues are viewed and treated by the health care system.

And he would know how desperate those needs are — he’s been treated for mental health problems for the last decade, hospitalized sometimes twice a year, without a lot of progress, he says.

He has had the benefits of a support network in the hospital, and has seen therapists, some through Pathstone Mental Health, but he has been told his brain chemistry “is so out of whack” he needs medication. He has a problem with the health system’s reliance on medication that makes him feel like a zombie, without treating the root of his problem, which has been diagnosed as PTSD.

On the GoFundMe page he set up, hoping to raise $7,500 for Pathstone Foundation, Rumsey is open about dealing with mental illness, and what he sees as a failure with the system in treating himself and others.

He told The Local his problems began with a traumatic experience as a 15-year-old, which led to the PTSD diagnosis. He has been dealing with that ever since, and expects it will stay with him for the rest of his life.

Before that time, “I had always been a happy, outgoing kid,” says Rumsey, who turns 26 this year. “That situation really damaged me. I’m still trying to get it back together, to keep my brain occupied and set goals for myself.”

He has support from his family, and also from friends, who will reach out to him when he needs them, but once those conversations are finished, he goes back to hearing “the voices in his head,” he says.

He spent some time in the hospital recently after a suicide attempt with drugs, and he has lost two good friends from drug overdoses.

“I see it as a huge issue of kids getting lost in the system and having an extremely high rate of falling back in the same hole, over and over again,” he says.

“I still struggle every day. Right now, I’m setting goals for myself, keeping busy.”

That includes working out at NPNG, and if he doesn’t show up, trainer Scott Paines, “will be in touch, telling me to get back to the gym. He knows my story, and understands it. He is an incredibly good trainer, and he knows what I need.”

Paines is helping him prepare for the August swim, with NPNG mascot Mocha, Paines’ constant four-legged companion at the Virgil fitness studio.

Rumsey would like to see more advice and encouragement being offered by the healthcare system on eating healthy foods, getting exercise and being in good shape physically, before being released from the hospital, “rather than depending on anti-depressants and other drugs.”

He says he’s not opposed to taking medication, but would like to also be offered a natural treatment, and have a doctor talk to him about how to deal with the “root problem,” the cause of his depression.

Rumsey graduated from Fleming College in 2017 as a heavy equipment technician and works in that field now, but has set himself a goal of going back to school for a degree in social work. “I’d like to be able to help other kids, offer them free counselling.”

Pathstone Foundation, the recipient of his fundraiser, works at improving the quality of life for children, youth and families across Niagara who are dealing with mental health challenges. Rumsey says he has seen the difficulties faced not only by young people suffering from mental illness, but the impact on their families, the emotional toll, and the cost of therapy. He feels guilt over the cost to his parents, and knows others in similar situations who feel the same.

He estimates he has spent about $10,000 on therapy sessions, but in the end, any help for him depends on medication he doesn’t like taking.

Rumsey says in addition to seeing doctors in the hospital, he has had several therapists, funded by OHIP, but doesn’t feel he received the kind of help he needed. 

He believes he is finally making progress with the right person, but because of the cost, can manage only monthly appointments, and sometimes not even that. He would like to be able to increase that to once a week, but the cost would be prohibitive.

He knows he has support for his fundraising goals, he says. He has never organized a fundraiser before, and was pleased that in the first 72 hours after posting the GoFundMe page, he had received donations of more than $4,000. 

Nor has he ever swum that stretch of river, a distance of about six kilometres, or been a competitive swimmer, which is part of why he chose that particular activity as a fundraiser.

His swim from the Queenston boat launch to the mouth of the river, he says, will likely take about four to six hours, and he plans on doing it with no breaks.

“I want to show people not to give up, or think something’s impossible.”

He grew up in Niagara-on-the-Lake, fishing and swimming, and considers himself a decent swimmer, but there are eddies between coves along that stretch which will create some challenges.

He will have at least two boats and two kayakers out in the water, and people cheering him on, he adds. “I won’t be doing this swim alone.”

“I’d like to see this become bigger than myself,” he says, turning into an annual event every August.

For more information or to donate to his Aug. 13 fundraising swim, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/yb6aqw-mental-health-awareness?qid=73a5d75eedf0b52499804d258aabc34b

To donate directly to Pathstone Mental Health, go to https://pathstonementalhealth.ca/, click on donate, and for designation, choose Dylan Rumsey Swim.

For more information about mental health support, contact Pathstone Mental Health. There is a crisis and support line operating 24/7 at 1-800-263-4944; in-person support is available at eight walk-in clinics across Niagara, Monday to Friday; and support via video is also offered Monday to Friday. For more information, visit https://pathstonementalhealth.ca