Rescuing the Rescuer

Sometimes the rescuer needs rescuing.

Jeff Smedley has been an unpaid professional volunteer member of Prince George Search and Rescue for 36 years. Having sat on British Columbia's very first Search and Rescue Advisory board, he has gone on to be a leader in BC's Search and Rescue program. He was part of a team that developed and taught the Team Leader program throughout BC. Jeff has run some of the largest searches in BC, including the searches for Joseph Andrews, a missing 10-year-old; Nicole Hoar, a hitchhiker out of Prince George; and Kienan Hebert, a two-year-old abducted in Sparwood.

Teaching for the Justice Institute of BC has allowed him to pass his skills to team leaders and SAR managers. Through the Search and Rescue Volunteer Association of Canada, he helped to develop the national standards for SAR and the training curriculum for Canada. Even with all this training, he still wasn't immune to stress-related injury.

Jeff opens up about how PTSD has affected him and the searches that had an impact on him both positively and negatively. This book reflects how PTSD has affected him in daily activities and explains his interactions with counsellors, physiatrists, and WorkSafe BC to get the help he needed. Reading this book will give you an insight into those who dedicate their lives to Search and Rescue.

For those who work in Search and Rescue and emergency services, Jeff offers hope for getting through PTSD and carrying on a normal life.