Teen raises awareness of PTSD after losing his policeman dad

After 28 years as a policeman repeated exposure to trauma left Sgt Brad Edwards with post traumatic stress disorder which led to his suicide in June last year. Now his 17-year-old son Charlie wants to ease the burden on other sufferers

Charlie Edwards was just 16 when he lost his policeman father to suicide last year. Now he is on a mission to raise awareness about post-traumatic stress disorder.

Sergeant Brad Edwards, a policeman for 28 years in the Central West of NSW, acquired his condition from repeated exposure to trauma on the job.

“It is a very quiet thing and can happen more commonly than people think,” said Charlie, a high school student from Warners Bay.

“One thing that stood out for me is how many people were affected after the loss of Dad and, with PTSD, it is younger lives that are taken from it. Dad was only 50.”

Sgt Brad Edwards suffered PTSD after 28 years in police service.

Charlie’s mum Jo Edwards said her husband was diagnosed in 2016.

“He was in the job for 28 years and he was exposed to a lot of traumatic events, the things that a police officer will see in their day-to-day work, and it accumulates over time,” Mrs Edwards said.

“We watched him go from a functioning dad who was working and part of everything around us to suffering very significantly from the symptoms of PTSD.

“He was strong enough to shield the kids from a lot of the symptoms he experienced and protect them.”

Charlie is one of four children.

“My former understanding was (it happens to) war veterans and police officers and ambos and disaster survivors and that is the general consensus of what people think about PTSD – but it’s much, much broader,” Charlie said.

Charlie Edwards, 17, lost his dad to suicide last year. Sgt Brad Edwards suffered PTSD. Pic Sue Graham

“I didn’t know much about it. I was pretty shielded from it.

“We’d be out and we would have to leave early, or Dad would start acting strange.

“I didn’t really know too much about PTSD back then, but after we lost Dad last year I realised how big a thing it is.”

In fact, PTSD is the most common mental health condition in Australia after depression but it’s often left undiagnosed and around half who have it don’t seek treatment, according to Professor Andrea Phelps from the Phoenix Australia Centre for post-traumatic mental health.

“The original diagnosis was based on the experience of Vietnam veterans but also women who had been sexually assaulted,” Prof Phelps said.

“It has now been recognised people can be affected by trauma in all walks of life. There’s a lot of focus on emergency workers, in health care and other work places where trauma can occur.

“Also in people’s private lives, an assault or the sudden unexpected death of a loved one can bring on the trauma response, so it is a much broader condition now.”

Symptoms of PTSD include reliving the event through unwanted memories, flashbacks or nightmares, avoiding places, people or activities that bring back the event, having negative emotions such as fear, anger, guilt or numbness, being constantly alert for danger, being easily startled and taking risks.

Sgt Brad Edwards pictured on right with his family L-R William, Emily, wife Jo and Charlie.

“Often people have difficulty sleeping at night, they might feel jumpy or have a startle response to a noise,” Prof Phelps said.

“Someone with PTSD will have an exaggerated startle and are hyper-vigilant in looking out for signs of danger, even though the danger doesn’t exist … it’s a difficult combination of symptoms.”

It would have been Brad Edwards’ 52nd birthday today.

Charlie has also raised $11,100 and donated it to PTSD research organisation Phoenix to help with their treatment and research work, which includes workplace programs for those who are exposed to trauma and training mental health care practitioners to treat PTSD.

“I really want to make a difference,” he said.

Sgt Brad Edwards pictured with his son Charlie. “He was an awesome father” Charlie said.

“I want to stop it from happening and Phoenix puts those measures in place.”

Treatments include helping people bring back the memories in a safe and supported environment, or to confront the trauma while guided by a professional.

“Dad was outgoing, he could start a conversation with anyone,” Charlie said. “He was an awesome dad, couldn’t ask for better, and I miss him like crazy.

“I got my bike licence after he died and if I had a wish it would be to go for a bike ride with him.”

To help Charlie raise funds go to www.gofundme.com/f/raising-awareness-for-ptsd-in-memory-of-brad; Lifeline: 13 11 14

Originally published as Teen raises awareness of PTSD after losing his policeman dad