Chad Wilkinson, a Navy SEAL, died by suicide on Oct. 29, 2018, due to the effects of numerous deployments, several TBIs, blast-wave injuries, and PTSD.
Wilkinson left behind a wife, two kids, and countless other friends and family members. Since her husband’s death, Sara Wilkinson, a long-time member of the CrossFit community and trainer on CrossFit’s Seminar Staff, has been promoting awareness around veteran suicide and prevention through her nonprofit, The Step Up Foundation.
Many people know someone who has been impacted by veteran suicide. Participation in CHAD1000X is an opportunity to honor lives lost to this epidemic. And Chad Wilkinson’s story is one of many.
CrossFit’s Managing Editor Nicole Peyton joins this episode to share her story and personal connection to this cause. Nicole will honor her late husband and U.S. Army veteran Chad Peyton.
“I’m going to do it in my garage gym at home. Veterans Day is a pretty special one for us for a lot of reasons. Chad’s (Peyton’s) birthday is actually Nov. 10, so the day before Veterans Day. I’ll do it on his birthday this year in our garage gym.”
In this interview, Nicole talks about her experience and shares advice on how to identify signs of struggle and support someone living with PTSD and depression.
“He was dealing with some invisible wounds that nobody could see. … It’s really easy to fall victim to the ‘this will never happen to us, this will never happen to our family,’” says Peyton.
“If it’s a veteran that you’re dealing with who is struggling, seek out (veteran-support) organizations; if it’s not a veteran, that crisis hotline (dial 988) or any source of help … don’t wait. Don’t brush it off.
Don’t think it won’t happen to you because it absolutely can.”
The Step Up Foundation raises funds to support programs dedicated to researching and treating combat-related injuries while honoring “our veterans and their invisible wounds.” Every year on Veterans Day, it unites people around the world with the workout CHAD1000X.
This Veterans Day, we’re asking the CrossFit community to join us, GORUCK, and The Step Up Foundation in support of this important cause. Take on the challenge of CHAD1000X on Nov. 11, 2023, when the workout will be posted for the first time as an official Hero workout on CrossFit.com for Veterans Day.
Invisible Wounds and Raising Awareness of Veteran Suicide