Flames are gone, but a lot of anxiety remains
It starts when she can no longer take a breath, followed by a stabbing pain in the left side of her chest — symptoms “so similar” to a heart attack, Sandra Legacy says.
“It has to be one of the scariest things that a human being can feel,” she says of the anxiety attacks that have come more often lately and hit hard. “Because you feel like you’re dying.”
Legacy has fought anxiety for years, and won. But then came the hot, windy Tuesday afternoon last May, a day that started with the usual eight-minute drive to work and ended with a flight for her life.
Thanks to the security system in her Abasand home she knows her house started to burn at exactly 4:16 p.m. She still hasn’t deleted the alerts on her phone.
In the aftermath, Legacy was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. She still hasn’t been able to go back to work.
“Sliding down that slippery slope into a very dark place, it’s hard to control,” she says, sitting in the home she and her husband are renting while they rebuild. “Not wanting to get out of bed, not wanting to get dressed or showered.
“It’s been a really hard year, it’s been a struggle every single day.”
She’s not alone. Dr. Emmanuel Osegbue, a family physician who has been practising in Fort McMurray for almost a decade, says demand for mental-health services among his patients is up by about 25 per cent. Many people are still dealing with the trauma of fleeing just ahead of an out-of-control fire, he says. Now, a year later, he’s starting to see people who tried to stay strong, and are now having the symptoms of depression and anxiety catch up with them.
“Even kids, they’re taken back when they reflect on the events of that day,” he says. “I see kids that are now having mood swings more than before.”
He argues that the loss of property was especially tough for residents of Fort McMurray, given the demands of working in the oilsands. With 4 a.m. wake-up calls and long days working heavy equipment, coming home is “the thing that gives them joy every day,” he says.
“And now it’s gone, in just a few hours. That’s very traumatic.”
Researchers from Laval University in Quebec, who surveyed a small sampling of Fort Mac residents last year, found 29 per cent of participants showed signs of PTSD, 26 per cent had a major depressive disorder and 36 per cent had insomnia. Researchers are returning to the city in May to conduct a larger study on the fire’s long-term impact on mental health.
For Legacy, the experience turned her into a crusader. She makes sure her neighbours know they’re not alone, and to ask for help if they need it.
“You really do feel like you are so isolated even though there are potentially thousands of people feeling like this,” she says. “You really do feel like you’re the only one.”
If there’s a positive outcome, Legacy says it’s that Fort McMurray, a town with a reputation for toughness, is now tackling mental illness head on.