One Iowa veteran is making it his mission to raise awareness for veterans struggling with PTSD and suicide by running across Iowa.
Iraqi War veteran Joshua Jorgensen will set out from Council Bluffs on Wednesday morning for the 330 mile, ten day run before ending his journey in Burlington, Iowa.
If running over 330 miles wasn't enough, Jorgensen will be doing it in a military issued gas mask, which he says further challenges himself and helps start conversations about the issue of veteran suicide. "We can create the awareness of, you know, the help that we're trying to get for other veterans and the struggles that they're going through."
Jorgensen says he announced the run back in October of 2016, but by that December Jorgensen would receive some news that put the run in jeopardy. Doctors discovered that Joshua had a congenital heart defect and would need to schedule him for open heart surgery immediately.
By the time Jorgensen was wheeled in for surgery in February 2017, he had his mind made up, that he would still do the run in September. "I wasn't gonna let that be a barrier, if it didn't have to be. So, when I got wheeled in to my operation I told the doctor, I just said, hey just make sure I get off the table and I'll do the rest."
The doctor made good on his end of the deal, so Jorgensen did too. He says he pushed himself as hard as the doctors would let him during his rehab. "They were surprised at how fast I was moving through the rehab process. I continued to bug them, and bug them, and bug them about being able to do more. So I'm back, 100 percent healthy now."
Jorgensen says the issue of veteran PTSD and suicide is something he has dealt with in his own life, and didn't want anything to stop him from possibly helping other veterans. "I found this to be a way to raise awareness for organizations and also reach out to veterans themselves, that maybe don't think there's a finish line there, that are struggling at the moment."
Jorgensen will start his journey on the Veteran's Memorial Highway, near the Missouri River, in Council Bluffs around 9:00 Wednesday morning and hopes to reach Burlington by September 22nd.
Funds raised from Jorgensen's run will go to the Kansas City based Team Fidelis Charity, which helps veterans in need.
You can donate to Team Fidelis here, or find more information about Joshua's run by visiting his Facebook page here.