Thankasoldier

Be Legendary - 2021

2021-09-24T14:18:00.001-07:00

My name is Dave Murphy and this is my story.

I was born in Grand Falls, Newfoundland in 1975 and lived all over the province. My parents were Salvation Army officers, so we moved a lot and I grew up around giving and charity. A few years I volunteered with the “Happy Tree” with the Salvation Army and got to play Santa Claus to families in need.

In 1994 while outside Bayshore Mall in Ottawa, Ontario I was involved in a altercation with three guys and all I remember from that night is trying to defend myself from them and having one guy in a headlock. I remember hearing “Oh Sh*t lets go” I started to walk away and then felt this horrible pain in my upper left leg. I put my hand down and when I looked at my hand it looked like something out of a scene in Dexter. I fell to the ground and remember a crowd of people looking at me. There was a older woman holding my hand and she ended up getting in the ambulance with me.

I had suffered several lacerations and thirteen major stab wounds on my body. The two in my leg severed the muscle and it was basically as the doctor said, “Holding on by a thread”. I spent a long three months on the couch and had to learn how to walk again as a result of the surgery on my leg.

When a lot of people hear that story, they say how horrible it was that this happened to me for me it was the best thing that ever happened to me. That may sound crazy but by the end of this write up you will get why. First Responders saved my life that night and would not be here to type this if it had not of been for them so once a month, I would randomly drop a tin of coffee off to a random firehall as my small way of saying thanks.

In 2007 I received a Facebook message from a close friend of mine that was serving with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan. He was so excited as they were opening a Tim Hortons on the base over there and couldn’t wait to get a “Taste Of Home” I asked him if they were going to have to pay for it and that’s when the idea hit me. At the time Tims had the old paper gift certificates so I thought what if people sent over paper certificates with messages of support on the back of them. “Tim Hortons For Our Troops” was official.

With help from VOCM News in NL and City news in Toronto picking up the story on my small growing Facebook page people from all over the country wanted to take part. I did not want these cards coming to me so I reached out to the Military Family Resource Center in Toronto and they agreed to be the landing point. The page continued to grow and in the first year we sent over $100,000 in gift certificates, all with messages of support on the back.

We also took on new efforts such as setting people up as pen pals, introducing military family members together and a support network for currently serving soldiers and Veterans. The page at one point grow to over 4 million members. However, the creators of the “Causes” application were making money running banners on top of the page so I decided to shut it down and go back to a regular page.

In 2010 I came up with an idea of “The Gratitude Project” a request for people to send photos holding “Thank You” signs for Veterans and currently serving soldiers from all over the world. I was floored with photos and received enough to make ten YouTube videos. The biggest shock was opening my email and seeing a photo from Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed holding a Thank You sign and posting about it on their social media. In total I received over 10,000 photos also including some from Trooper, Jason McCoy, Schools, companies and regular citizens. It was quite overwhelming.

In 2012 I was informed that a group of soldiers got together and nominated me to be Knighted into The Order of St. George and was very honoured to be selected. Also, a military friend nominated me for the Queens Diamond Jubilee medal and Avenue Magazines Top 40 Under 40. I never did these efforts looking for a pat on the back, but I was very proud to accept both.

July 1st, 2014 the happiest day of my life and the scariest day at the same time. My wife and I were expecting our first child and when our daughter came into the world all I heard was “Code Green” and tons of doctors came running in to the room. A nurse took a chair in the corner facing the other way and passed our new baby to me. I was so scared staring down at her with my heart beaming but worried sick about my wife.

She needed a transfusion and thankfully made it, or I would have been a single dad. It was at this point that I took a step back from my efforts and let things run themselves. Being a dad was the single greatest thing that ever happened to me and I wanted to focus on that.

I decided I needed to try and get healthy, so I decided to go to World Health Gym to attempt to change my life. I was on an exercise bike and two guys behind me were laughing at the back of my neck and referring to it as a “Package of Sausages” Dealing with PTSD for many years this messed with my mind and I left and didn’t go back. .

In 2018 I was at the playground with our daughter and she wanted to race home. I said, “Sorry sweetie you know daddy can’t run”. With my leg injuries I used that as an excuse and blew up to almost 400lbs. The look of disappointment on her face was enough to light my fire. I set out on a plan to lose 100lbs in a year and I would donate $1 a pound to my favourite military charity. (Story GLOBAL NEWS CALGARY)

Ten months into this mission I had dropped almost 80lbs, so I went on a Facebook page called “Calgary Roast & Toast” and decided to post a thank you to those two guys mocking me for the extra motivation. I received a message from Jon & Warren at Southpaw Boxing Gym in Calgary. They told me their establishment was a “Family” and there is no judgement. They invited me to come try it out and ended up giving me a one-year membership to make sure I reach my goals.

Boxing has changed my life, I am in the best shape I’ve ever been in both mentally and physically. I’ve dropped 170lbs and all that despite two gym shutdowns due to the pandemic. The old Dave would have failed miserably but not this time. I have worked with some amazing trainers in the last two years and I am so thankful for Southpaw. I am still plugging away and donating $1 a pound to my friends at Can Praxis. They are a charity that helps First Responders, Veterans and their spouses dealing with PTSD. It is my way of paying them back for saving my life in 1994.

When I started my efforts some people said

- You’re too old to lose 100lbs

- You’re too old to survive boxing

- You’re going to hurt yourself

- You look like a little kitten playing with string

Here I am today a contestant in the "Legendary Dad Bod Contest" through Mens Journal Magazine. I am proud of everything I've accomplished, Not only for getting my mind right, defeating, PTSD and being drunk six nights a week to working out six nights a week.

If you've been inspired at all by reading this please consider sending me a vote. The winner receives $25,000 and a two page story in their magazine. If I win I will be taking my wife and daughter back home to Newfoundland for the first time to meet family they've never seen and also see my home province. We also play to use it for a downpayment on a house. Also the two page feature will also bring awareness about my favourite charities globally and that is priceless in itself.

Thank you for reading

CLICK HERE TO SEND ME A VOTE:

LINKS :

Avenue Magazine - Dave Murphy Top 40 Under 40

Attack Survivor supports Canadian Troops

Supporters Thank A Soldier site attracting millions (Canadian Military family magazine)

The Gratitude Project (YouTube)

Inspired Albertan Segment with Darrel Janz (CTV Calgary)

Twenty Five Years Of Paying It Forward - This is my story

2021-02-17T07:08:00.006-08:00

My name is Dave Murphy and this is my story.

I remember hearing “Oh Shit lets go” I started to walk away and then felt this horrible pain in my upper left leg. I put my hand down and when I looked at my hand it looked like something out of a scene in Dexter. I fell to the ground and remember a crowd of people looking at me. There was a older woman holding my hand and she ended up getting in the ambulance with me.

July 1^st, 2014 the happiest day of my life and the scariest day at the same time. My wife and I were expecting our first child and when our daughter came into the world all I heard was “Code Green” and tons of doctors came running in to the room. A nurse took a chair in the corner facing the other way and passed our new baby to me. I was so scared staring down at her with my heart beaming but worried sick about my wife.

Ten months into this mission I had dropped almost 80lbs, so I went on a Facebook page called “Calgary Roast & Toast” and decided to post a thank you to those two guys mocking me for the extra motivation. I received a message from Jon & Warren at Southpaw Boxing Gym here in Calgary. They told me their establishment was a “Family” and there is no judgement. They invited me to come try it out and ended up giving me a one-year membership to make sure I reach my goals.

Boxing has changed my life, I am in the best shape I’ve ever been in both mentally and physically. I’ve dropped 155lbs and all that despite two gym shutdowns due to the pandemic. The old Dave would have failed miserably but not this time. I have worked with some amazing trainers in the last two years and I am so thankful for Southpaw. I am still plugging away and donating $1 a pound to my friends at Can Praxis. They are a charity that helps First Responders, Veterans and their spouses dealing with PTSD. It is my way of paying them back for saving my life in 1994.

IF you would like to match my donation (or a portion) to Can Praxis you can DONATE HERE.

(They are a registered charity and you'll receive a tax receipt.

When I started my efforts some people said

- You’re too old to lose 100lbs

- You’re too old to survive boxing

- You’re going to hurt yourself

- You look like a little kitten playing with string (Speedbag reference)

WATCH ME!

I've learned a lot in the last two years and I have been helping some people online get their life in order physically and mentally. I fought PTSD for 25 years before I talked to someone and it's very dangerous. I've learned a lot of good tips and home workouts that I want to share with as many people as I can. It's my way of paying it forward. I don't want anything for it, I don't accept money but I'm here to help. You can reach out to me on Instagram or Twitter at @davemuryyc.

Lets Go!

LINKS :

Avenue Magazine - Dave Murphy Top 40 Under 40

Attack Survivor supports Canadian Troops

Supporters Thank A Soldier site attracting millions (Canadian Military family magazine)

The Gratitude Project (YouTube)

Inspired Albertan Segment with Darrel Janz (CTV Calgary)

Fighting For Veterans & 1st Responders - My Story

2020-08-28T17:06:00.003-07:00

In 1994 I was involved in an incident in Ottawa where I was stabbed thirteen times. I suffered two severe leg injuries and ten other wounds on my back. After surgery was over I had a doctor assess me and was told I would always have problems walking and would never be able to run. For sixteen years after this incident I suffered with PTSD and used my injuries as an excuse to be lazy,

In 2007, a very close friend of mine was serving with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan and he was so excited because they were opening a Tim Hortons on the base for them. I asked him if they had to pay for the food and coffee and he said yes. My reply was, “Not anymore.”

I started a small Facebook group called Tim Hortons For Our Troops and asked people to send the paper gift certificates with a message of thanks on the back of them. Within a few days, it had about 3000 members and was spreading like wildfire. VOCM News in Newfoundland did a story on it and that’s when things went crazy. I contacted the MFRC in Toronto and they gave out their address as a place where people could send the messages and they would have them delivered. CITY NEWS in Toronto then picked this story up and within the first year we had sent over $100,000 in free coffee to soldiers with messages of support on the back of them.

I started to receive a lot of messages asking for pen pals from civilians which I gladly set people up with. This turned into a new mission of its own, and within a few months I had set up over 2000 people, including ten elementary schools, as pen pals with soldiers overseas. We also introduced military families to each other, fellow soldiers with each other and, most importantly, families of fallen soldiers were meeting each other through this page to help each other grieve.
This page now has over 150,000 members from all over the world and still going strong.

In 2010, I decided to start “The Gratitude Project” which encouraged people to send a photo holding a Thank You sign. I would put them together in a YouTube video and do my best to make sure that our troops would see them. Well, we received enough photos to make ten YouTube videos featuring people from every corner of the world. The biggest shock was opening my email inbox and seeing a photo from Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed.

After Gene posted about my page, every metal and rock band that came to Calgary would send tickets for me to bring veterans to their shows. I got to bring veterans to Kiss, Motley Crue, Megadeth, Ozzy, Iron Maiden, Black Label Society, etc. A lot of the veterans had PTSD so these nights out meant more to them than can be put into words.

I met my wife in 2012 and we had a beautiful daughter together in 2014; this was my wake-up call to go and talk to someone about my mental health and I am very thankful that I did.
I believe the reason I was spared that night in 1994 was to become a father and a husband. These are the two greatest things that have ever happened to me and my number one reason for starting my weight loss journey. I want to be around when my daughter graduates and gets married way, way, way down the road.

Since my incident in 1994, I have always tried to pay it back to those that saved my life that night and I felt pretty good about accomplishing that up to this point but this was just the beginning. In 2018, I was at a park with our daughter who was four at the time. She wanted to race me home from the playground but I said, “I’m sorry sweetie, Daddy can’t run.” The look of disappointment on her face I will never forget as long as I live.I decided that was enough and promised myself I would lose 100 pounds in 2019, one way or another. I needed something to keep me motivated so I pledged online that I would donate $1 per pound that I lost in the year to Vets Canada. A group I have worked very closely with over the years that gets homeless veterans off the streets and assists veterans who are struggling.

In November of 2019, I hit my 100-pound weight loss goal and several others matched my $100 donation. In total, we were able to raise $750.00 for this organization.
I wanted to keep going so I pledged that I would lose another 50 pounds by the end of 2020 and donate the money to Can Praxis which is a horse therapy program that assists veterans and first responders with PTSD through the use of horses. This is where things really changed.

In December, I was on a CALGARY ROAST AND TOAST page and I posted a thank you to two guys who were making fun of the first time I tried a gym about a year before. I was on an exercise bike and there were two guys behind me on the treadmill. I could hear them referring to the back of my neck as a package of sausages and laughing very loudly. Those guys lit a fire under me and although it messed me up for a while, it eventually was used as motivation.

I was contacted by the owners at Southpaw Boxing Gym in Calgary who saw my story and offered me a year membership and training to hit my goals. Boxing has changed my life; after struggling with PTSD for 16 years, this place has been a Godsend. They are truly a family – right from the owners to the trainers and all the members; I have never had so much support in my life.The owners told me about their “Chump To Champ” program and instantly I thought this could be my final way to pay it back to the first responders who saved my life. I decided to join and my first fight was supposed to be in April 2020 (postponed due to COVID). I started a Go Fund me page and will be splitting 100% of the donations between my two favourite charities: Vets Canada and Can Praxis. It was a fight that originally got me in to this situation and it will be a fight that will close the door on it for me.

About a month ago I met Damian Robertson who is a Canadian Army and Tattoo artist here in Calgary, Alberta. I met Damian through the founder of the Can Praxis program and I had help him auction off a painting he did to raise funds for Can Praxis, After the auction was closed Damian contacted me and said for all the work I have done for Veterans over the last thirteen years and helping him with his painting he would design and give me a tattoo,

This was the AMAZING end result

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by DaveMurYYC (@davemuryyc) on Aug 18, 2020 at 6:16pm PDT

Since I started boxing training, I’ve had a lot of people say:

“You’re too old for that.”
“You’ll never keep up with the training.”
“That is way too intense for you

.”
Well, I love when people tell me I can’t do something as that’s what has been lighting my fire for years. Two weeks ago, one of my trainers had me running on a treadmill for four minutes straight. (Something I hadn’t done in 26 years!)

Too old? Too intense? We’ll see about that.
See you in the ring.

Update : August 2020

My fight was postponed due to COVID but I am still training for this event. If you are interested in sponsoring me please go to my GO FUND ME PAGE

Here are some additional links if you ware interested :

How I Lost 100lbs in 2019 and my advice for anyone starting out.

Southpaw Gym My New Home

My Second chance at life

View this post on Instagram

You Can't see me Getting faster #speedbag #Boxing #yycboxing

A post shared by DaveMurYYC (@davemuryyc) on Aug 24, 2020 at 5:29pm PDT

My New Home

2020-02-07T07:47:00.001-08:00

On December 4th 2019 I made a post on the "Calgary Roast & Toast" facebook page which is a place for people to rant about negative experiences in Calgary or toast to people doing great things in our city.

I posted on their a "Toast" to two guys at World Health gym on my first visit there that messed me up for quite awhile. I was sitting on a exercise bike in front of two guys on a treadmill. I heard laughing behind me and of course being a very self conscious almost 400lb guy I immediately in my head assume they were mocking me. I then heard one of them refer to the back of my neck looking like a pack of sausages and laughing about it together. I left that day and didn't go back and it honestly messed me up for quite awhile afterwards. I didn't go back to the gym for almost a year later when I joined Fit4less and started my weightloss mission. I needed motivation to not quit so I decided to pledge to donate $1 for every pound I would lose to VETS Canada. A registered charity that assists struggling Veterans and gets homeless Veterans off the streets. On November 10th, 2019 I hit my goal and made my donation along with several others matching me we were able to donate $750 to Vets Canada.

The post on the Roast & Toast page received a lot of mostly positive comments and support from people all over Calgary. I even had about 20-30 people reach out to me in the same situation asking for tips and advice on how I lost the weight. That to me is one of the greatest things about posting my story on there.

ON Thursday December 5th I received a message on the post from Jonathan at Southpaw Boxing gym in Calgary. He told me that him and Warren saw my post and were inspired by my story. They assured me that it was like a family there and no judgement from any of their members and told me to come in and try it out. They gave me a one year membership and unlimited training for a year which blew my mind. There were no stipulations like "You have to post this on all your social media channels, you have to bring in X many members" or anything like that. It was just real.

On December 10th I went in to Southpaw not knowing what to expect.

I met Warren Grenier who gave me a tour and introduced me to some members. I met Steve Claggett on day one and his first words to me "Hey Champ lets do this" Steve is a professional fighter that is pretty highly ranked in Canada and that day he gave me a shout out on his Instagram calling me a champ. That simple gesture meant a lot to me after everything I had been through in my previous fails at some of the bigger gyms.

The next day I did my first Circuit class with Bryenna and it was rough. She is amazing and so

supportive and told me to start at my own pace. For the first time in my life I did a burpee I had heard many horror stories about them but here I was doing them for thirty seconds at a time in-between each workout station. At the end of the class I was sitting on the floor well mostly because I couldn't move but every member that was in the class with me came over and gave me a fist bump and said "Awesome job man" I finished my class and went in to the change room and thankfully I was alone because I was a mess. Not to get all cheesy here but I for the first time in my life felt welcome at a gym. Class after class with Bryenna and I started to feel less and less sore and one of the stations on a most recent day was running on a treadmill for 2:00.

To most that may not seem like a big deal but I have half a muscle in my left leg from a stabbing in 1994 so I hadn't even tried to run in over 25 years. I looked at her and said "I don't know if I can do this" she just nodded and said "Just try" so I did and succeeded. The next class with her it wasn't one of the stations but I had adrenaline going and decided to run again. She gave me a belief in myself that I haven't had in a very long time.

At Southpaw they also have a 12 x 12 Russian Army Boot camp. I had seen the videos posted and honestly I was terrified to try it and that's when I met Anthony Johnson. The class is 12 stations of insane workouts, things I never in a million years thought I would be doing with very little breaks in between. After my first class it took me almost thirty minutes to catch my breathe but felt pretty good. For the next three days I couldn’t move that much, I was sore in places I didn’t know I had places but two days later I went back and it got a little easier.

After six weeks at Southpaw and trying various classes I started to eye the speed bag. I had seen people using it and decided to give it a try and having the coordination of a turnip I could only keep the thing going with one hand for about ten seconds at a time. My first attempt at the speedbag. A coworker said "You look like a little kitten playing with a ball of string in this video" I shrugged it off and it just let my fire to go and keep trying.

On my second day trying it (after the 12x12) Vlad Goldenstein who is one of the trainers at Southpaw say me struggling and came over to give me some pointers. It helped a lot and I could get the speedbag going for about twenty seconds now.

On January 28^th I went in with a mission and I wasn’t leaving until I kept it going for forty seconds and not only did I achieve that goal I was on that thing for forty five minutes. Steve Clagget was sparing in the ring that day and also came over to me and said “Stop looking at it, close your eyes and listen to it” very wise advise and on my most recent speedbag day I kept it going for three minutes straight eight times with thirty second breaks. Other members also have stopped up and given me more tips so thank you Kyle Beattie. I also want to say thank you to Kenny Dusseault for always coming over to talk and offer tips even while he’s training other people.

Southpaw is my new home and a second family. This is not a sponsored post or advertisement it’s just some real feelings from someone who was mocked and ridiculed several times which in the end I used as motivation to keep going. I signed up for their Chump To Champ competition and will be having my first fight on April 25^th. Am I nervous? A little but I know I’ll give it my all and make the Veterans and First Responders I’m doing this as a fundraiser for very proud.

If you’d like to know more about what I’m doing for Veterans & 1st Responders CLICK HERE. This is also a write up I did about my second chance at life and how I am trying to make the most of it.

Plain and simple Southpaw has changed my life, I have never had so much belief in myself. I am a different person at work and at home. I have more patience and it takes an awful lot to bother me these days. I used to have a lot of panic attacks & anxiety attacks from my incident in 1994 but those are gone. There is nothing like going to let off steam after a hectic day at work and I am hooked.

If you’re out there reading this and want to try it out please send me a message and you can join me at one of their classes for free. Trust me you will fall in love with this place and will be the best decision you ever made. Finally Thank you to all the members who have come up to me in the past seven weeks to introduce themselves after seeing my posts online.

Southpaw Boxing Gym - 6624 Centre St S – (587) 433-2218

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/southpawboxinggym

Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/southpawboxingyyc/

You can follow my progress here :
Instagram : https://www.instagram.com/davemuryyc/

Twitter : https://twitter.com/DaveMurYYC

I want to send a huge shout out to Crackmacs for sharing my original posts throughout the year about my weight loss and also matching my donation to Vets Canada for year one. Also Howie`s Pizza in Calgary, The Canadian Hero and Kirk Lubinov for matching me as well. Crackmacs is also behind the Calgary Roast & Toast page and have been very supportive. Thank You

Click Here To Sponsor me for my fight for Veterans & 1st Responders

My 2nd Chance At Life

2020-01-31T04:45:00.000-08:00

My name is Dave Murphy and I live in Calgary, Alberta however I grew up in many small towns in Newfoundland. In 1994 I received a second chance at life and this is my story and how I’m making the most of it.

I was raised in a very loving family by two amazing parents who were Salvation Army officers, along with my brother and sister we were fortunate to be around giving our entire lives. We did however move every 2-4 years as they were stationed in different cities all across the province. In 1992 my father received the call that he was being transferred to Ottawa and this city was were my life changed forever.

In April 1994 I was outside of Bayshore Shopping Mall and got in to a heated argument with three guys (It’s been so long I don’t remember the cause or what started it) I remember one of the guys coming at me to punch me so I attempted to defend myself. I remember the three of them swarming around me and then after about twenty seconds they all took off. I started to walk away then I put my hand on my leg and looked at it. The site of my hand covered in blood I fell to the ground in the mall parking lot. I had been stabbed twice on my leg and nine times on my back. I had a punctured lung and one knife wound I was told after missed my heart by ONE inch. I remember a older lady holding my hand and she kept holding my hand in the ambulance right to the hospital.

My muscle in my left leg was severely torn and major surgery was required, also to fix my lung that had been punctured. When I woke up from surgery I asked where the lady was that was in the ambulance and no one had any clue what I was talking about. You can think about that whatever you like I however feel it was someone looking out for me.

For almost four months I was laid up on a couch and had to learn how to walk all over again, because of this I put on a lot of weight which I never recovered from. I had multiple doctors tell me I’d always have problems walking for the rest of my life. For a lot of years I let that be my excuse to be lazy and continued to put on weight. After I recovered from the accident I wanted to pay it back so I would bring cans of Timmies coffee to fire halls and police stations whenever I would get the chance. It was my small way of saying thank you.

Fast forward to 2007 and a very close friend of mine was serving with the Canadian Forces in Afghanistan and he was so excited because they were opening a Tim Hortons on the base for them. I asked him if they had to pay for it and he said yes. My reply was “Not Anymore”

I started a small Facebook group called Tim Hortons For Our Troops and asked people to send the paper certificates with a message of the thanks on the back of them. Within a few days it had about 3000 members and was spreading like wildfire. VOCM News in Newfoundland did a story on it and that’s when things went crazy. I contacted the MFRC in Toronto and they gave out their address as a place where people could send them and they would have them delivered. CITY NEWS in Toronto then picked this story up and within the first year we had sent over $100,000 in free coffee to soldiers with messages of support on the back of them.

I started to receive a lot of messages asking for Pen Pals from civilians which I gladly set people up with, this turned in to a new mission of it’s own and within a few months I had setup over 2000 people including ten elementary schools as pen pals with soldiers overseas. We also introduced military families together, fellow soldiers with each other and most importantly families of fallen soldiers were meeting each other through this page to help each other grieve.

In 2010 I decided to start “The Gratitude Project” which encouraged people to send a photo holding a Thank You sign and I would put them together in a YouTube video and do my best that our troops would see them. Well we received enough photos to make ten YouTube videos from people from every corner of the world. The biggest shock was opening my email inbox and seeing a photo from Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed.

In 2013 after the severe floods in Calgary and High River, Alberta I asked people to come together to bring coffee to first responders in the area and the response was amazing. In one day we delivered over $5000 worth of coffee to every fire hall in Calgary and High River. We also had a property management company send $1000 in Tim Hortons cards which we decided to give out to people that had been forced to leave their homes to try and brighten their day a little.

When we visited some of the emergency centers in High River the fire fighters and RCMP officers politely turned it down and told us to bring the coffee outside to residents in the RV's in the parking lot as they could use the lift more than they could, I can't say I was shocked by this at all.

Since my incident in 1994 I have always tried to pay it back to those that saved my life that night and I felt pretty good about accomplishing that up to this point but this was just the beginning. In 2018 I was at a park with our five year old daughter who was four at the time. She wanted to race me home from the playground but I said "I’m sorry sweetie daddy can’t run” the look of disappointment in her face I will never forget as long as I live. I met my beautiful wife in 2012 and in 2014 we were blessed with the birth of a beautiful daughter. This was my reason I was spared that night in Ottawa to become a father and a husband. These two are the greatest thing that ever happened to me and my number one reason for starting my weigh loss journey. I want to be around when my daughter graduates and gets married way way way down the road. They are my reason

I decided this was enough and promised myself I would lose 100lbs in 2019 one way or another. I needed something to keep me motivated so I pledged online that I would donate $1 per pound that I lose in the year to Vets Canada. A group I have worked very closely with over the years that gets homeless Veterans off the streets and assists Veterans that are struggling. On November of 2019 I hit my 100 pound lost goal and several others matched my $100 donation. In total we were able to raise $750.00 for this organization. I wanted to keep going so I pledged that I would lose another 50lbs by the end of 2020 and donate the money to Canpraxis. They’re a horse therapy program that assists Veterans and First Responders with PTSD with the use of horses. This is were things changed.

Seven weeks ago I was on a CALGARY ROAST AND TOAST page and I posted a thank you to two guys who were making fun of me the first time I tried a gym about a year before. I was on a exercise bike and two guys behind me on the treadmill I could hear them referring to the back of my neck as a package of sausages and laughing very loudly. Those guys lit a fire under me although it messed me up for awhile it eventually was used as motivation.

I was contacted by the owners at Southpaw Boxing Gym in Calgary who saw my story and offered me a year membership and training to hit my goals. Boxing has changed my life, after struggling with PTSD for 16 years from my incident this place has been a Godsend. They are truly a family there and right from the owners to the trainers and all the members I have never had so much support in my life.

The owners told me about their “Chump To Champ” program and instantly I thought this could be my final way to pay it back to the first responders who saved my life. I decided to join and will be having my first fight in April. I started a Go Fund me page and will be splitting 100% of the donations between my two favourite charities Vets Canada and Canpraxis. It was a fight that originally got me in to this situation and it will be a fight that will close the door on it for me.

With this fight I have access to a VIP table up front for people to support me, my plan is to have Steve Gillis from Vets Canada, Steve C the founder of Canpraxis, one fire fighter, one police officer, my wife, and three Veterans at this table. I am hoping to find a Calgary business that might want to sponsor the table to make this happen. If you know anyone please contact me at murphyd@gmail.com

Five days ago I received a very special gift from someone I have respected and admired since 2007. Kevin is a retired firefighter from Ontario and he was a part of the Hero To Hero program that used to send fire fighter t-shirts to coalition forces overseas. It would bring them a little piece of home while they were away. Kevin had sent me a red Sarnia Fire Rescue short over ten years ago that had gotten lost and somewhere in my moves here in Calgary. Today I opened up a package from Kevin with several fire fighter shirts and this one I looked at last. I flooded up as it was a 911 firefighter tribute shirt that had sent by the mother of a fire fighter that died in 911. Robert Foti died in the south tower and his mom sent it to Kevin. Kevin wore the shirt when he did a stair climb in honour of 911 an he climbed 78 flights of stairs ( the highest any fire fighter reached on 911 before the towers collapsed) he was wearing all his bunker gear including S.C.B.A

He sent me a message that said

"I hope this shirt inspired you in all that you are doing"

I will be proudly wearing this to the ring for my fight in April

When my Go Fund Me page has completed I will be making the donations and sending tax receipts via the two charities to anyone that sponsors me in this fight. I have always kept things 100% visible through my efforts and this will be no different.

To the EMS and fire fighters who were on the scene 1994 thank you, to the doctors who worked on me in the emergency room thank you, to the Ottawa and Nepean police officers who worked on my case and eventually found the guys responsible for what happened to me thank you.

If you were inspired reading this feel free to share.

Thank You

Click here to sponsor me : Go Fund Me Page

How I've Lost 100lbs in the last year & my advice for anyone starting out

2019-12-13T12:42:00.000-08:00

I've received a lot of messages asking me how I've managed to lose weight this past year so I figured I'd create a post about it.

My first piece of advice is that this has got to start with your mind before you even think about going to a gym, working out , trying a diet or whatever you are deciding to do.

My message to anyone in the same position I was a year ago and afraid to go to the gym. I was very self-conscious at the time, if I heard anyone laughing I’d think “Oh my God they’re talking about me and laughing about your size” This is blunt but you need to not give a damn about anyone thinks and realize you are there to better yourself and get healthy.

Food & Diet :

First of all I used to eat horribly and a lot. Before I got married I ate even worse but my wife and I did eat out a lot so we've cut that down to once a month we'll have a treat night. I used to drink two XL Tim Hortons 3/3s a day and a lot of pop. At work I would frequently snack on chips (my kryptonite) and the occasional Kit Kat Bar.

For breakfast every day I have a bowl of cereal and a piece of fruit.

Lunch usually consists of whatever we had for dinner the night before.

Dinner : Hasn't changed however I cut my portion size of the potatoes and rice and doubled up the veggies. Since starting this I have received a lot of people on fancy diets and if that works for you great but it's not my thing. I always have a fear starting something like that if I stop I'll gain all the weight back so I've just been working hard.

GYM & Workouts :

When I first started I started light. I would go to the gym one day a week and this is my routine:

15 min warm up on bike I do four sets of ten on all the circuit training machines at my gym. I started with light weights and have worked my way up to heavier weights but I made sure that the lower weights I had been using were not a challenge for me anymore. I finish with 20 min on treadmill

After a month I bumped this up to two days a week however at my work I started doing little things differently. I take the stairs instead of elevator and if I have a question for someone I walk to their desk instead of emailing them. The biggest difference maker is I have a 1.2 liter water bottle I drink every day.

I work a pretty weird schedule and also lucky enough to have a gym at my work so in the past few months on my days off I do my two hours at the gym. On the days that I work I get up one hour earlier and just get on a treadmill on full incline for 40 minutes before I start my work day.

Also as I failed numerous times in the past and needed a way to stay motivated I made a personal pledge online that I would be donating $1 per lb lost to my favourite charities which on many days in the past year fueled my fire to keep on going. The two military charities I chose were Canpraxis and VETS Canada.

SouthPaw Boxing on Facebook

Last week I had posted online about two guys who were at the first gym I ever tried out who were mocking me from the machines behind me. That at the time really messed with my head but eventually I was able to use it for motivation. Warren Grenier & Jonathan Weal from South Paw Gym in Calgary saw my story and were inspired by it and reached out

They graciously offered me a membership for the next year and boxing classes to help me achieve my end goals. They’ve also provided me with a full meal plan which I’ll be starting soon

This place is like nothing I’ve ever seen the amount of people that came up to me and saw my story and gave me words of encouragement was incredible. I posted on their Facebook page after my first day and the amount of messages I’ve received also from other members there is like nothing I’ve ever seen. They are a family and I can already sense that only being there a week.

For more updates you can follow my journey on Instagram @DaveMuryyc

Stay Tuned

Losing For A Purpose

2019-10-10T06:41:00.002-07:00

In 1994 I was involved in an incident outside Bayshore shopping Mall in Ottawa, Ontario. I was stabbed 13+ times including two in my left leg that I had to have emergency surgery on and as a result I was laid up on a couch for three months. I had to learn how to walk again and due to having my muscle severed in my leg it affected me ever since. That night my life was saved by Ottawa first responders and to show my gratitude for several years after I would randomly bring coffee to fire halls and buy coffee every time I crossed path with a first responder at Tim Hortons.

For almost fifteen years I struggled with PTSD from this incident in Ottawa and I wrote about it for Bell Let's Talk day a few years ago. CLICK HERE

In 2007 a close friend of mine serving in Afghanistan emailed me that they were getting a Timmies over there so at the time Tim Hortons had paper certificates (instead of gift cards) and I thought it would be amazing to send over a few with messages on the back with support. I decided to start a FB page to see if anyone wanted to join me and within a few days it had over 1000 members. It kept growing and growing so much in the first year thanks to the Military Family Resource Center in Toronto giving me an address to send to we had sent over 100,000 in free coffeee all with messages to troops on the back of them.

Over the years we did various projects through the new "Thank A Soldier" page including The Gratitude Project in which we received enough "Thank You" photos to make ten YouTube videos. Many celebs also joined in such as Gene Simmons and Shannon Tweed. Fast forward to 2014 and the best thing ever happened to me. My wife and I were blessed with a daughter. About a year ago we were at the playground and she asked me to race her home. I said "I'm sorry sweetie dad can't run because of my leg" she was quite upset.

I decided I had enough of being overweight and needed a plan to get healthy. I needed a plan to keep me motivated so I decided my first goal would be to lose 100lbs. I made a pledge to myself that I would donated $1 for every lb lost to a charity called VETS CANADA. They help get homeless Veterans off the streets all across Canada and also help Veterans who are struggling and on the verge of becoming homeless.

I met the founders of Vets Canada several years ago and have always respected their organization. I had approached them about a month ago about a close friend of mine who was a Veteran and had to move due to unforeseen circumstances. He was stressed about how he was going to come up with his damage deposit so I put him in contact with VETS Canada. A week later his worries were gone as VC came through and cleared it for him taking so much stress and worry from him. He could have asked for more but no he only asked for the exact amount he needed as he said they could use other money to help more Veterans. I still have 50lbs I want to lose so I decided for round two I wanted to help out another amazing military charity called Canpraxis.

If you would like to match my donation of any amount to either of these two charities feel free do so directly to their website and I've posted more information about them below.

Can Praxis is a national mental health provider and registered Canadian charity. We offer intensive treatment programs for Canadian Veterans and First Responders (serving and retired) living with an Operational Stress Injury (OSI), such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). We include the injured person’s spouse/partner/family member in our programs because OSIs have a profound impact on the family as a whole.

Our team of facilitators and clinicians teach lasting skills and strategies through experiential learning and dialogue, using a combination of psycho-education, counselling, peer-support, and Equine-Assisted Therapy. Founded in 2013 by a Canadian Military Veteran and a Trauma-focused clinician, Can Praxis is the leading Equine-Assisted Therapy provider for the Veteran and First Responder community.

We take care of all the logistics and cover the costs for participants (flights, hotels, transportation, childcare) to remove cumbersome barriers that can prevent people from getting the help they need. We restore hope and save lives through our programs, made possible by the generous support of our donors. Check out CAN PRAXIS HERE

VETS Canada
This movement has grown into a federally registered non-profit charity that has a network of 135,000 and hundreds of dedicated volunteers across the country, most of who are ex-military/RCMP. They work within the community to identify homeless veterans and quickly re-establish the bond of trust that exists between soldiers.

Working within the community, VETS Canada members attempt to move veterans from the streets or shelters into affordable housing (if available). They also connect the veterans with needed health care, help them access benefits and services from other organizations, and support them in finding suitable employment. The volunteers stick with these veterans every step of the way and do everything possible to help them re-establish themselves. To do this, VETS Canada has a national Board of Directors composed of volunteers and has outreach across the country. In 2014, VETS Canada was awarded a contract by Veterans Affairs Canada whereby they are now approved Veterans Affairs Service Providers in the field of homeless and in-crisis veteran outreach.

VETS Canada has evolved from just assisting homeless veterans to also providing support to those who are not necessarily homeless but who are “in crisis”. Whether that crisis is not being able to afford groceries or a hydro bill, or it’s an emotional/mental health crisis, VETS Canada is available to provide support. In 2015, VETS Canada launched it’s Guitars for Vets program which offers peer support through guitar lessons. Donate to VETS Canada HERE

On December 4th I had posted on the Calgary Roast & Toast Facebook page giving a thank you to the two guys who were mocking me the first time I tried to go to a gym in Calgary. The owners of Southpaw Boxing gym messaged me telling me how their gym was like a family. They invited me to check it out and offered me a membership and training for the year to accomplish my goals. I have only been a few times to far but this place is like nothing I've ever seen. There is so much support there from other members and the staff are amazing. I have some BIG news coming in January but I'll post more about that later.

I've also received a lot of messages asking me how I've lost weight and posted an article here.

Little C's Remembrance Day Painting

2019-05-10T06:15:00.004-07:00

Having run this page since 2007 my proudest moment came in November of 2017. We went to pick our daughter who was three years old up from preschool the day before Remembrance Day and her teacher informed us they had done poppy paintings.

When my daughter brought out hers I was brought to tears with pride as our Veterans and men and women who currently serve is something very close to my heart.

I had the print copied and sent to some family and friends and posted online. Within a few days I had many requests for a copy of the print. We even ended up sending one to London, England as we hat gotten a request from a Legion over there that wanted to display it.

Two years later and we are still so proud of it.

This Remembrance Day 2019 I plan on bringing a copy and giving one to a Veteran. My daughter and I have attended a ceremony every year and I plan on continuing this tradition as long as we can.

If you would like to do the same are welcome to download a copy and print if off or if you'd like to put one in your home.

Thank You and Lest We Forget

To Download photo RIGHT CLICK and choose save as. All that we ask is that you leave a comment stating where you are from and why you downloaded it.

Taffie's Journey

2019-05-03T04:31:00.001-07:00

Last night at the age of eleven years old our little Shih Tzu had to be put down due to developing cancer. This little dog brought our family so many great memories and I thought I would share her story.

December 2012 I had been dating a gal (my now wife) for several months and went over to her place for a visit. As I walked in her door I was approached by a very fuzzy Shih Tzu who took one look at me and took off to her dog bed. She just stared at me for most the night and would occasionally let out a little woof under her breathe and then go off to sleep. By the end of the night she did come over and say hi and that was where it all began.

As time went on and we eventually moved in together this little dog became my best friend. She would follow me everywhere when i got up in the morning. She would wait patiently behind me while I made breakfast waiting for a piece of food to drop and then we'd hang out on the couch together and watch TSN Sportscenter every morning for the next four years.

As someone that had suffered from PTSD from an incident that happened to me in Ottawa in 1994 where I came very close to dying. I often would have severe anxiety attacks and Taffie would quickly come over and snuggle into me. There were many nights when I was alone thinking about what happened still where Taffie would climb on the back of the couch and lick away the tears. This little dog for me was a God send. She brought me so much comfort and happiness.

Fast forward to July 2014 and my wife and I were given the greatest gift ever. A beautiful baby girl

To prepare Taffie for her homecoming we brought home a article of clothing she had worn at the hospital so she could get used to her scent.

Taffie was very curious about our little girl as you can see in the video above and was her little guard dog and very protective over her. Whenever someone would visit us to see her she would sit in front and make sure no one was harming her. At the age of six months old we were visiting a family member who was dog sitting for someone. A big German sheppard came over and got too close to her and little Taffie came and sat down in front of her and showed her teeth and growled. She was not afraid to stand up to this big dog and sent a message that no one messes with her little sister.

Our daughter and Taffie became best friends and for the next three years they shared a lot together, mostly it was our daughter dressing her up in her princess outfits, brushing her hair, putting beads on her ect. but she took it all. She was so good and patient with her.

A year and a half ago our family had to make a very difficult decision. We had to move out of our house into a cheaper apartment building and they did not allow pets. We sadly had to give Taffie a new home with someone. A friend from work told me about his mother who was alone and could use a good friend. So with a heavy heart we sent little Taffie off to British Columbia to send someone some much needed comfort.

For the last year Taffie went for monthly massages, pedicures, day spas you name it, she was being spoiled rotten. She frequently sent us texts of Taffie which made it a little easier but also harder at the same time.

Last night I received a call from my coworker.

My heart came up in my thought as anything he has to tell me it's usually by text I knew this wasn't good news.

He told me that Taffie had been to the Vet a few times this week for some tests and found out she had cancer. The Vet said she wouldn't live more than a month so they decided instead of her suffering they had to put her down.

My heart is broken as I type this as our little best friend is gone but she will live in our hearts forever.

We Love you Taffie, and we will miss you.

32 Years of Rock & Rebellion - My Motley Crue story

2019-03-23T07:28:00.000-07:00

So last night after a eleven hour day of work and after our four year old went to bed I could not wait to watch The Dirt Movie. I'll post my thoughts on the movie below this write up but first this is why my review of this movie is going to be slightly bias. I've been a fan for thirty two years, have seen them over ten times in concert and their music got me through a lot of tough times with being in a severe accident in 1994 and surviving.

In May of 1987 I was turned on Much Music's show The Power Hour and was watching an interview with a band called Mötley Crüe. I was instantly drawn in to it and awaited the premiere of their new video Girls, Girls, Girls. I was drawn to the rebellious nature of this band as I grew up in a very religious home being raised by two amazing parents who were Christian ministers and every Sunday whether I liked it or not I was sitting in a church for several hours.

I saved up a few weeks allowance and went in to our local record store in Bonavista, Newfoundland and bought "Girls, Girls, Girls" on cassette. I spent so many hours when the leaflet unfolded learning all the lyrics and banging my head. So up came the next Sunday and having the usual argument with my parents about having to wake up for church went a little different this day. I decided to bring my Sony Walkman with me, run the wire up the back of my shirt and sat up in the balcony listening to this cassette over and over. While the folks in this church were singing "Take a walk with Jesus" I was rocking out to "Take a walk on the Wild Side" without anyone knowing. (In fact I've told my parents who were ministers about this)

Fast Forward to 1989 and Crue released Dr. Feelgood. I remember the video also premiered on The Power 30 (Yeah they cut the show to 30 minutes for whatever reason) and with my birthday coming up I asked my parents for a guitar.

It took me about two weeks to learn the opening sequence to the song Dr. Feelgood but when I did it was all I played for a good two months and must have drove my parents crazy but I didn't careI felt like Mick Mars.

At the age of 14 for my school English project we had to do a speech on a popular subject. I decided to pick "Why Heavy Metal Is Not The Devils Music" as my topic of choice. I thought the speech was great but I went in to detail about how Metal was a scapegoat for people wanting to blame the worlds problems on it ended up with a call to my parents from my teacher who was concerned about my mental state. Someone had also reported me to her because of the Crue posters and Shout At The Devil album cover I had pinned up in my locker but hey I turned out alright.

We had a friend of the family stay with us that was a pastor at another church and he took over my room for the weekend. On the back of my door I had a giant Crue flag with the Shout At The Devil pentagram album cover on it and he told my parents they were satanists and I should not be listening to their music. My dad took my cassette collection from me and I was pissed. So I went to the garage plugged in my guitar and played the opening bars from SATD for a good two hours straight on my 50 watt Peavey amplifier and it felt damn good. After the gentleman left I got my Crue tapes back and all was normal. I continued to listen to Crue and often had stereo battles with my brother who was blaring his Stryper cassettes in the next room over so on many nights it was Shout At The Devil Vs. To Hell With The Devil.

In 1994 I was involved in an incident where I was attacked by three males and stabbed thirteen times. (Twice in my leg and nine on my back) I came very close to dying and spent quite a bit of time in the hospital and it took me months of recovery learning how to walk again. A family member asked what I wanted from home at the hospital and without hesitating I wanted my Motley Crue music. I guess the song "On With The Show" had a deeper meaning to me at this time as I just moved on and went on with my own show but this incident made me look at life completely different and take nothing for granted. I was laid up on a couch for almost six months and there was no such thing as Social media at the time or Netflix to binge watch something, so all I had was live TV, my stereo and my metal and rock collection on cassettes. Most of the time when I'd get upset I'd put on Crue and blast it in my headphones and it would take me away, ease my mind and make me for get everything I had just experienced.

Fast Forward to 2006 and I was now living in Toronto, Ontario with my family. The Carnival Of Sins tour was coming to Toronto and this was it I was about to see my favourite band of all time live in concert. Growing up in Newfoundland we didn't get many concerts come to town aside from Our Lady Peace & Trooper so this was a very big deal for me.

When they first came out my jaw hit the floor, I could not believe I was seeing these guys live for the first time. Song after song I was screaming my face off and singing along. This was by far the greatest night of my life and still felt like a dream.

In 2007 I started a online group for sending coffee to Canadian soldiers serving our country in Afghanistan and I had no idea what this would eventually lead to but that will come later.

In 2007 after moving to Calgary I hosted a Support Our Troops night at Cowboys Night Club here in Calgary, Alberta and the bar bused in military men and women from all over Alberta. They had a silent auction to raise money for military charities and there was one item I was not losing.

It was box seats to an upcoming Motley Crue show and I won't say how much I paid for it but it was for a good cause and it was another amazing night of seeing my favourite band live.

April 2013 would be my greatest Crue moment in my 30 years of being a fan. Through my Thank A Soldier page a lady from their management team reached out to me about their upcoming Calgary show and said they wanted to give me some tickets to bring some Canadian Forces members to their show. Ofcourse I agreed and myself and seven veterans arrived at the stadium to find we had been seated in ROW ONE Center stage. For about thirty minutes before the show started I just sat there in disbelief looking at the stage setup and reflecting on my 14 year old self learning how to their play their songs I was about to get my ass kicked in the front row.

Just when I thought this couldn't get any more amazing they were singing "Home Sweet Home" and Vince was going along the front row putting his microphone in front of people on the chorus. It got to me and I belted out harmonies with him and he looked surprised. He gave me a thumbs up and said "F**k Yeah" away from the mic and threw a guitar pick at me.

I didn't think this night could ever be topped but I was wrong.

In November of 2014 Motley Crue announced their final tour and there was no way I was missing this one. I bought a couple of tickets and was supposed to go with my brother in law. The night before the show he informed he that he wasn't able to attend but introduced me to a family friend who was a diehard Crue fan and has always wanted to see them live. This guy had terminal cancer and didn't have much time to live. After the show ended he looks at me and says "Dave I can now die a happy man this was the greatest night of my life" Watching him sing along with every song knowing this would probably be his last concert was very surreal and inspiring.

So here I was in 2016 and the new best thing in my life my daughter was very a very excited three year old as she was about to attend her first concert. No it wasn't Motley Crue but it was The Wiggles. Here I am a guy that's been to over 200 metal concerts waiting for The Wiggles to hit the stage with a very excited three year old girl. When they came on the stage she had the same look in her eyes that I did the first time I saw Crue

My daughter had another moment the first time she saw Splash N Boots live in concert and said to me "Dad how did they get from the TV to here"

She kept saying over and over "This is so amazing, so amazing and great thank you"

The best words I've ever heard.

So I guess that pastor that stayed with us back in the 80s was wrong, I didn't turn out to be devil worshiping demon or a biker from listening to Motley Crue. I think I turned out alright

The Dirt Movie - My thoughts.

It was a wild ride from start to finish. Was the acting Oscar worthy probably not according to whatever standards they use to judge them on these days I have no idea as I don't watch the show. If you watch this movie expecting to see anything less than filth that made Motley Crue what they were you will be sadly disappointed. If you're easily offended I would stay far away from this film . This movie is the kick in the nuts 2019 needs and a reminder that sometimes we take things way too seriously. I'm sure in the next few weeks there will be some group that will protest it or request Netflix to remove it or some sort of online petition. If you read the book you won't be disappointed. if you've followed Motley Crue along the way as I have you'll enjoy this movie.

Rock On!

One Hour Of Your Time

2016-03-14T10:35:00.000-07:00

According to a recently released study from Employment and Social Development Canada there are over 2500 homeless Veterans in Canada. The information in the report, released to The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act, comes from a database that tracks 60 emergency shelters across the country and added veterans as an identifiable category in 2014.

I have seen an increase in online posts of people arguing about who the Government should be providing assistance to and I thought instead of fighting about that let’s do something about it.

VETS Canada a registered Non-Profit which was founded by a Canadian Veteran Jim Lowther is a “Boots On The Ground” movement that to date has helped over 800 Veterans in just over six years.

VETS Canada has volunteers in every province in Canada and doing amazing things to help Veterans who are either homeless or in risk of being homeless.

As you’re reading this you may be thinking “How Can I Help” well a lot of people don’t have time to physically volunteer however there is a way you can with the new “One Hour Of My Time” challenge.

We are asking everyone to consider donating ONE HOUR of your salary to VETS Canada.

Once you have made a donation please copy & paste the following on your Facebook & Twitter pages.

I just donated one hour of my pay to VETS Canada #OneHour4VC http://bit.ly/OneHour4VC

Let's come together to help this military family

2015-02-10T08:31:00.000-08:00

his morning I received a message from a Veteran who informed me of another battle Master Sergeant J. Russel is going through right now with his son Brock. If you could take a moment to check out the link & share that would be appreciated. This man saved his life in Afghanistan & now is fighting a battle with his son here at home.

If you want to help the link to donate is on this page but if you can't that's also okay and maybe share this post will put them in contact with the right people.

Here's the post on their "Go Fund Me" page :

Meet our youngest son Brock. He was diagnosed with a rare form of a Malignant Rhabdoid tumor called an Extrarenal Rhabdoid Sarcoma or also known as an Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumor (ATRT) when he was 5 years old. There are usually about 30 cases of these types of tumors diagnosed every year.

His diagnosis came after 3 months of complaining of intense neck pain which began in August and September of 2014. His doctor finally ordered a CT scan on November 24th which revealed the quarter sized mass invading his spine at C1 and C2 with another involvement at C5. We were shocked and devastated and were medi flighted out to another hospital in Jacksonville, FL for their team to do a biopsy.

After the biopsy, the pathology results took two weeks to come back. During that time the neurosurgeon put Brock in a halo brace to help with his pain and to keep him stabilized to prevent him from becoming paralyzed. The pathology came back confirming our worst fears, and we were sent home to begin Chemo. After two cycles of intense Chemo therapy we went back to Jacksonville to harvest stem cells and do some follow up scans. The scans revealed that his tumor had grown and spread to other vertebrae. His tumor is not reacting to chemo and is growing rapidly. The doctors are reaching out for other opinions and trying to find a surgeon willing to operate on the delicate location. Any donations would be used for travel expenses as we may be traveling all over the country to Boston, Tennessee, or Pittsburgh to consult with experts.

Brock loves life. He keeps our spirits up and keeps us going. He has been through so much from chemo and daily shots to surgery and overcoming the fear of MRI machines. He has had to become so brave in just the last few months and still maintains a smile.

Please help us find the right doctor to help my son.

Feb 10th, 4:28pm Eastern Time : Update from the family : Thank you everyone for helping us to reach our $10,000 goal so quickly! Our family is so grateful for all the generosity, prayers and kind words. We have a feeling of relief and freedom to be able to travel anywhere we need to go to help Brock. Thank you for all the support and extra outside research that some of you have done. This campaign has done so much good for us. We were advised to increase the amount for our goal, but I just wanted everyone to know that any extra money will be donated to Childhood Cancer Research and the Ronald McDonald house.

Brock's medical file and a copy of his scans have been sent out all across the country now to St Jude's, University of Pittsburgh, Dana Farber in Boston, University of South Florida, and Duke University. His team is waiting to hear back from these facilities and we will hopefully have a plan by the end of this week. Again, thank you from the bottom of my heart.
If you are on Twitter please CLICK HERE & click the Retweet button

CLICK HERE IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO HELP

Can You Help Me Find the First Responders Who Saved My Life

2015-02-02T08:37:00.001-08:00

After many years of putting it off and dealing with symptoms of PTSD from what happened to me outside Bayshore Shopping Centre in Ottawa, Ontario I've decided to try and track down any of the first responders that saved my life in 1994.

My name is Dave Murphy and in March of 1994 I was attacked by three guys outside of the Bayshore Shopping Centre and stabbed multiple times. As this is now almost 21 years later many parts of that night are foggy but I'm hoping to find the EMS, Police or any first responders that were on site that night who helped saved my life.

I know two of the stab wounds on my leg if it had not been for a guy holding the muscle in my leg together I would be here typing this right now but I would be doing it from a wheelchair as if it wasn't for him I would have lost my leg.

I attempted to contact the "Personal Healh Information Office" and received the following reply :

Thank you for you inquiry, I would like to inform you that in 1994 Paramedic Service were provided via private firms. I would suggest the inquiring via the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care who are the governing body for all Paramedic Services in Ontario. May I suggest a starting point ,
Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care - Personal Health Information Office

I attempted to contact them and received this reply :

We don’t provide the type of information you are looking for.
You could try contacting the local ambulance service that tended to you. I believe they keep records of this sort of thing, or might be able to point you in the right direction.

I did post about the ordeal for #BellLetsTalk day and did have a retired fire fighter contact me who's looking in to it for me as well but maybe someone who knows someone might see this post and be able to help me find some of these heroes who I wouldn't be here today if not for their actions that night.

On the retired fire fighter page one of his friends did post the following :

In a general sense perhaps Nepean police info was incorporated in the the Ottawa Regional Police (Which of course has since transitioned into Ottawa Police Service). The Ottawa Police Service would be my starting point. Now from my time in Canadian Police Information Centre (CPIC) I know some departments used CPIC more than others if the department didn't have a robust internal computer system but I don't know where to start to access the CPIC. I would guess that a federal access to information request for entries created by Nepean police on xx date near yy time re stabbing incident. On a general note based on my 42 years in federal service all information desired should be done through a formal request. Informal requests / emails can be ignored or fobbed off by civil servants. Formal requests have deadlines to meet and penalties for non compliance. I know this from making a few requests myself while pursuing a grievance. In 1994 the ambulance service was a single entity province wide with dispatch centres (CACC) run by contract entity and some ambulances were private contractors. However the Ministry Of Health (MOH) set and enforced the reporting and documentation criteria across the province and everything ended up with the MOH. The patient log was a huge form in very small print with what seemed like hundreds of check boxes. The same form was used province wide by all ambulances. Those records may not have ever been computerized but likely exist in microfiche. A formal request to MOH for info would help open these old files. A further idea, "follow the money" the ambulance ride and hospital care would have been charged to the patients OHIP number. An formal access request for date time against that OHIP number could be the beginning of getting more information.

You can read my "Battle With PTSD" post for #BellLetsTalk day as well.

I want to find anyone that responded that night and be able to say THANK YOU. I am going to be in Ontario in April and would love it if I could meet them in person and bring closure to these events and move along with my new life & new baby.

If anyone has any information please feel free to EMAIL ME

Thanks,

Dave Murphy - Calgary, AB

My Personal Battle With PTSD - #BELLLetsTalk

2015-01-28T07:10:00.000-08:00

I'm not a celebrity and I don't have millions of followers but today I'm hoping to make a difference in someone's life by sharing my personal story about P.T.S.D. I am a civilian, I have never served in the military but in 2007 I started an online effort to boost morale of Canadian soldiers serving in Afghanistan.

Fast forward almost eight years later and here I am. My name is Dave Murphy and I'm a proud new father of a baby girl born on Canada Day 2014. I have a wife who is amazing and who puts up with all my quirks & habits. I have a decent job that gets my by and I wouldn't trade my life for anything in the world.

A few years ago however that wasn't the case and I was in a very dark place.

In 1994 I was walking home from work in Ottawa, Ontario and was approached by three Somalians. They started yelling derogatory remarks at me which I ignored and kept walking. They continued to follow me and one of them came at me and at the time I thought he was throwing punches so I attempted to defend myself.

At that time two of his friends jumped in and I was being bombarded with what I thought were punches.

They ran off and I started to walk away shaken by what happened but thankful to not feel too much pain. I put my hand down on my leg and looked at my hand to see blood dripping off it. At that point I realized I had been stabbed and passed out on the sidewalk.

Thankfully an off duty fire fighter & EMS were driving by and jumped out to see if I was ok. I later found out I had been knifed thirteen times in total. The two worse were on my leg and in fact the fireman held the muscle together in my leg until an ambulance arrived. If he hadn't of done that I would have lost my leg and would be typing this from a wheel chair.

I had nine stab wounds on my back one of which punctured my lung and another missed by heart by half an inch.

I lay there in the parking lot of the Bayshore Shopping Centre mall not really knowing what was going on just remember seeing a crowd of people around me and one lady who held my hand the whole time. She came in the ambulance with us and later when I came to at the hospital I asked where the lady was that was in the ambulance and no one knew what I was talking about.

I'm not the most religious person but growing up with parents who were Salvation Army officers and being brought up going to church every Sunday when I look back on that night I know I had an angel in the back of that ambulance with me.

I was severely injured in this attack and thus was out of commission for about three months, I had to learn how to walk all over again as I couldn't bend my left leg. For about ten years I used this an excuse to be lazy and then I met MCpl Jody Mitic. A Sniper with the Canadian Forces who lost both his legs after stepping on an IED. Hearing that he was running 5k's on prosthetic legs inspired me to get going and it was an excuse no more. I started walking more and more and thanks in large part to Jody's inspiration managed to lose 80lbs in 2014 and still working on losing more.

For a lot of years I also carried what happened to me around with me and never talked to anyone about it, just let it sit there. A few times when I was out in public and I’d see someone that looked to be of Somali decent I would start to have anxiety attacks and one time I even had to get off a Toronto subway train as a group of ten of them got on. This is not something I’m proud of but also something you can’t help when something like this happens to you.

Back in 2013 I don't remember the movie I was attempting to go to but a trailer came on for the movie Captain Phillips staring Tom Hanks. This is a true story about Somalian pirates and when the trailer started I started having a major anxiety attack to the point where I could barely breathe. I thought I was fine and didn't think I needed help for it but two years ago I finally had enough and it was through talking with a soldier about how he was going through the same situation when he would be driving down the road here in Canada and see an old beat up white pickup truck he would go another route or pull off the road.

I have been running various efforts to support soldiers since 2007 and have met a lot of our men and women who serve our country both online and in person. I have spent many nights on the phone until late hours of the morning just talking to them as they know they can talk to me in confidence and not worry about me posting names or any information publicly on here or Facebook.

I've received the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal, Knighted Into The Order Of St. George & a member of Avenue Magazines Top 40 Under 40 however there's times before I got help I would think to myself "I wonder if these people knew some of the thoughts I have had as a result of what happened to me if they'd take the awards back" When awaiting to be knighted into the Order I started to have major anxiety attacks. Being in a room surrounded with military high ups and the thought of having to be in front of so many people triggered panic attacks & anxiety for about the next six months after the event also.

I honestly wish I had of gone to talk to someone sooner but asking for help is a tough thing to do when you might feel asking for help is a sign of weakness but I’m glad I did.

When I moved in to my new building last year my wife was about seven months pregnant and couldn't help with any of the moving. Our new neighbor who is a Somali saw me doing all the work myself and came over to me to offer his assistance. A few years ago I’m not sure how I would have reacted but I’m very happy to see we've actually become good friends.

I still get the anxiety attacks but thanks to my sessions I take a deep breathe and tell myself "You're not in Ottawa, no one is going to hurt you and you're safe" and then they go away.

For a lot of years I tried to figure why I was spared that night in Ottawa? At first I thought it was to run efforts in support of our men & women in uniform or to try and make a difference in the world. It became VERY CLEAR why I wasn't killed by the events in Ottawa on July 1st, 2014 when me and my wife had our first child on Canada Day. Every time I look at her I'm thankful for my second chance in life.

I have been trying to find the EMS & Fire Fighter who saved my life in 1994 for the past two years and keep running in circles as in 1994 EMS were privately dispatched so all the emails I've attempted to send have come back with nothing. If some how this makes it to someone that knows any of the first responders that saved my life that night please send me and email as I would like to fly there and thank them in person. It might be a long shot but you never know

Today is #BellLetsTalk day so I’m sharing my story of my own battle with PTSD since 1994 in hopes that if it helps ONE person reach out for help then it’s served it’s purpose.

Read "The History of Thank A Soldier" HERE

WARNING : Scammer posing as US Marine

2014-05-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

Do you know the US Marine pictured in these photos?

Today we had contact with a lady in Florida who had been communicating with a man claiming to be a US Marine for the last six months. It started out as friendly emails back and fourth but ended up with him asking to send him money transfers.

The person in these photos may in fact be a US Marine however someone is using his photos with cruel intentions.

If you know who he actually is please leave a comment on our Facebook Post or a comment on this blog.

Thanks

Tim Hortons - National Day of Honour Fail

2014-05-11T08:08:00.003-07:00

The National Day Of Honour was on May 9th, 2014 to honour all Canadian men & women who served during the Afghanistan mission. On May 6th Tim Hortons posted the following on their web page.

Their Twitter post was one of the most retweeted updates on the National Day Of Honour tag and not long after posting this on our "Thank A Soldier" Facebook page we began receiving messages & comments from military members (That were in full uniform) who went to their local Tim Hortons after the National Day Of Honour parades and were told that such a promo didn't exist and they would have to pay for their coffees.

The post on our Facebook page received 45 shares and was seen by 19,000 people.

Here's the update on their website.

Also the following was posted on their Twitter feed.

Numerous messages like this began to come in :

I guess the "Memo" never made it to all Tim Hortons as we have reports now from over one hundred members of the Canadian Forces who went to Tim Horton's locations in eight different provinces and were told they never received any word of such a promotion from head office and were told they would have to pay for their coffees regardless of what day it was.

Almost 24 hours ago I posted the following on our @Thankasoldier Twitter feed but received no reply from @TimHortons on Twitter.

My question to Tim Horton's is that if you are going to post something on your web page & on your national Twitter feed wouldn't you make sure that every location in Canada is aware of it to avoid this kind of thing?

If you went to a Timmies on the National Day of Honour and were told the same thing feel free to leave a comment on this blog.

Thanks

Losing Weight To Help Homeless & at risk Veterans

2014-04-26T06:11:00.002-07:00

In September 2013 I started a weight-loss challenge and as I have tried and failed many times I wanted to come up with a way to stay motivated and not fail again. "Lose For Food" was born. I decided I was going to help out two charities with my mission "The Calgary Food Bank" & "V.E.T.S Canada"

I pledged that I would donate $1.00 for every pound I lost in the next 365 days as well as one pound of food for every pound that I lose to the Calgary Food Bank.

Here we are almost nine months later and I have lost 70lbs so far.

Yesterday while checking my email I noticed an email from Anytime Fitness which is the gym where I currently work out. The email stated they were starting a contest called "Get 10,000 & Give 10,000"

They're giving away $10,000 to the most inspiring story and that person receives $10,000 to pay it forward to someone.

I instantly thought of the folks at V.E.T.S Canada to receive the $10k as I have worked very closely with them over the past few years and have seen first hand the great work they do with Veterans who need assistance.

What would I do with the $10,000 I receive if I win this? The first thing I will do is buy my lbs in weight-loss in food and donate it to the Calgary Food Bank and top that donation up to $500 along side of it.

I also found out back in November that me and my lady are going to be having our first child in the first few weeks of July. This money would help us out a lot with things we're going to need for the little one.

A lot of people have asked how I'm losing the weight well the answer is simple, I'm working my a$$ off. I go to the gym five times a week now and do cardio every day and some circuit training every 2nd day. I have cut out junk food, pop and take out food and replaced with healthy meals & drink a lot of water.

The original pledge I made to the Calgary Food Bank & VETS Canada helps me stay motivated. On days when I don't feel like going to the gym I think about the people I'm going to be able to help if I keep working hard and that usually lights a fire under me.

The "Give 10k Get 10k" contest is for all of North America so it's going to take a lot to help us take this one home and be able to donate $10,000 to V.E.T.S Canada as well.

Please consider going to the link below and sending a vote my way & sharing the link to this page on your Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+ ect.

If you have never heard of our "Thank A Soldier" page and efforts feel free to check out "The History of Thank A Soldier"

Thank You
Dave M. - Calgary, AB

CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR MY STORY

Losing Weight to help homeless Veterans http://t.co/1jbWZzHqS3 #Lose4food @AnytimeFitness
— Thankasoldier (@ThankASoldier) April 26, 2014

CLICK HERE TO GO TO OUR FACEBOOK POST AND CLICK THE SHARE BUTTON

Sapper Brian Collier on Saturday Memorial Hockey Tournament

2013-05-24T15:41:00.000-07:00

Hey Everyone! I just wanted to spread the word about the memorial ball hockey tournament my family and I are coordinating for my brother, Sapper Brian Collier on Saturday. Brian was killed on 20 July, 2010 at the young age of 24, in Afghanistan while deployed with the Canadian Forces. Brian was an adventurous, whole hearted, amazing guy and loved sports.

Brian played hockey all his life, so we thought this was a perfect way to honour him.

If anyone is around the area and would like to come out for it, you are more than welcome. It is being held in Bradford, Ontario on Brian Collier Way. It is an outdoor tournament with Tim Horton's (in the morning), a BBQ, a silent auction, special guests Johnny Bower (a WWII veteran), the Good Brothers and some of Brian's comrades from Afghanistan.

All of the money raised on Saturday will be donated to the scholarship funds that we have set up at the local high schools, Heart of a Hero, the Wounded Warriors fund, and to the Bradford Ball Hockey Association.

We hope you can come out and support this amazing cause, and watch some hockey.

Shannon Collier

.

KISS Ticket Giveaway

2013-05-07T14:32:00.003-07:00

Rock Legends KISS are coming to Calgary, Alberta on Saturday July 13th and we have provided tickets & passes to meet the band to give away to members of our military past & present.

WE WANT YOU....... to nominate military personnel to attend this concert and also if you are a Veteran or currently serving soldier you are free to enter yourself as well. The instructions on how to enter and what email to send are below.

We met Shannon Tweed on Twitter several years ago and her and Gene Simmons submitted a photo for our “Gratitude Project” we did on YouTube over three years ago. Shannon has also been very helpful with retweeting a lot of our projects and missions on Twitter and we are very thankful for that.

Last year when KISS & Motley Crue played a show in Toronto they also gave away passes & tickets to our friends at Military Minds to give away for that show and they all had an amazing night so we’re really looking forward to this.

We will not be doing this through “Thank A Soldier” for any of their other dates just the Calgary show. Everyone is welcome to enter but travel costs to get here if chosen as a winner will not be included.

NOTE : We'll be drawing the names on June 15th as the concert is on July 13th and anyone needing to make travel plans or time off work this will give them time for that.

Thanks
Dave Murphy - TAS

HOW TO ENTER :

1. Answer the question below & email your answer to Kiss@Thankasoldier.net please also include the name of the military member you are nominating and they're contact info.

In November 2011 myself and a member of the Canadian Forces got to meet Shannon Tweed & Gene Simmons at the Grey Cup, what was the name of the soldier who attended with me? (Hint : Answer may be found here)

2. Share our KISS – Calgary Facebook photo

Rules & Regulations : - Contest is open to all members of our military past & present within North America.
- Flight & other travel expenses to Calgary, Alberta is not included.

- One entry per person

- Contest only open to Veterans & Currently Military Personnel

Fake Starbucks Email circulating again

2013-04-23T14:16:00.000-07:00

Last night someone messaged me a post about how "Starbucks doesn't support the troops" and how they should be boycotted. I knew this was instantly false with my work with the folks at Hero To Hero US & Hero To Hero Team Canada.

This is a write up from their site you can read their full write up here from 2003

What?! You heard Starbucks doesn't support the troops? That is soooo 2003 ... And so not true! You've probably gotten a copy of that old email -- I can't get an e-mail out about the good things being done for the troops but that e-mail goes round & round! Here's the retraction to that original e-mail and the facts behind the whole fiasco.

I noticed that the fake post had over 120,000 shares, I'm posting this to see how many the REAL story can receive.

The Hero to Hero US program is not currently in operation but the Hero To Hero Team Canada program does continue. You can check them out here

Please consider sharing our Facebook photo and spreading something positive.

Guitars For Vets - Canada

2013-04-06T12:09:00.002-07:00

Jim Lowther a veteran of two tours to Bosnia and part of the first wave of Canadian troops to enter Afghanistan after 9-11 is the founder of Veterans Emergency Transition Services (VETS) a movement whose goal is to help veterans struggling to adjust to normal life.

Jim's new project Guitar For Vets Canada is a place for Veterans to come together with physical and mental disabilities to work through their problems through the power of music, while learning to play guitar at the same time.

I wanted to start Guitars For Vets because when I was at my worst with PTSD I started playing my guitar and I would just go away for awhile and it was a great way to clear my mind. I want to give every VET who suffers with PTSD A chance to get away from the noise in there heads for a short time, I mentioned this to a couple of my friends and they were all for it so I went on the net too look around to see if anyone else thought of this idea, this was before I started VETSCanada about 2 years ago.

I found Guitars For Vets in the US they were having great success with this idea and have helped many VETS through music because music is the key to healing yourself.

The Goal for Guitars4VETSCanada is to start up groups in every province so veterans with mental or physical injuries can learn to play guitar by an instructor, the groups will be no less than 3 VETS and at the end of the 10 classes each Veteran gets a new guitar and case and tuner and music book to keep going and stay on the road to healing themselves through music. Everyone who helps in this will all be volunteers and donations will go to start new G4VC's in new cities and to by Guitars 4 Vets"I wanted to start this earlier but VETS Canada was so busy I couldn't but our VETS need something to stop the noise and I feel the time is right, we are looking for anyone who would like to sponsor us so if anyone is able to spread the word that would be great."

- Jim Lowther CD, CEO, Founder, VETSCanada.

CLICK TO LIKE G4V CANADA ON FACEBOOK

Here is the video about the G4V program in the U.S.A

Sgt Elton Adams - PTSD Awareness

2013-04-03T21:52:00.000-07:00

In May 2010 we launched a video called "The Battle Of The Mind - Operational Stress & PTSD" with the use of the song "Hard" by Sgt Elton Adams. That video to date has received over 57,000 views and Elton & I decided it was time to make a new one. The video for Elton's song "Beat Up" features the faces of soldiers as a lot of our men and women come home injured & wounded but to most people their wounds aren't visible.

Sgt Elton Adams recently entered the CBC Searchlight contest and what started with over 3000 bands we were able to help him get to the top 8 but did not make it past that. Even though the CBC chose to put the top 16 in a "Head To Head battle, for us it wasn't about that, it was about getting music with a purpose out there and I think we were successful with that.

Here is the video we launched together in 2010 :

Sgt Elton Adams - YouTube Collection

2013-03-20T13:03:00.003-07:00

As promised here's Sgt Eltons Adams YouTube videos. Some we have made & others that he has on his page.

Enjoy

Please consider voting for Sgt Elton Adams once a day from March 18th to March 24th for this round please also share our photo on our Facebook Page

CLICK HERE TO VOTE

Our TEN most viewed videos

2013-02-22T08:55:00.002-08:00

Here are our ten most viewed YouTube videos in the last three years. Vote for your favourite by clicking the poll below the videos.

Click here to take survey

Donate blood in memory of a fallen hero

2013-02-15T15:20:00.001-08:00

"On Feb. 24th 2008 my son, Spc. Micheal “Pokey” Phillips gave his life for freedom. I tell people often to not dwell on that day and how he died but to dwell on how he lived. One thing Micheal often did was to give blood and the gift of life. This year to honor how he lived we are holding seoind annual “Spc. Micheal ‘Pokey’ Phillips Memorial Blood Drive”

Yes this started as a local event but many people across the world have come to me saying they would give where they are in his memory. So I am asking you to give the gift of life to honor a man who gave the gift of his life for others.

Please help keep other families from facing the painful path of losing a loved one. If you do choose to give the gift of life in Micheal’s memory I ask you to please take a picture of yourself giving blood and share via the information below

Thank you
Angelia Phillips Gold Star Mom of Spc. Micheal “Pokey” Phillips

Please R.S.V.P on the Spc. Micheal "Pokey" Phillips Memorial Blood Drive Facebook Page

My challenge to everyone is no matter where you are in the world on this day to go donate blood and have someone take a photo of yourself doing so then send it to SUBMISSIONS@Thankasoldier.net and we'll post an album on our Facebook page of people from every corner of the world taking part of this.

I met Angelia on Facebook many years ago and she has helped with every project I have ever launched as well as talked about our page on group on every radio show she has been on and I have always wanted to come up with a way to say thanks and I can't think of a better way than by helping her honour her son Michael.

Dave Murphy - TAS

Click here for the Facebook event page