A man dressed head to toe in yellow jogged along the highway pushing a yellow cart, nearly halfway through a walk across Canada to honour the health-care system that once saved his leg, and his life.
The cart holds a sign, reading: "RUNNING ACROSS CANADA HEALTH CARING.CONQUER HEALTH TRAUMA."
Trevor Redmond, known as the Fellow in Yellow, has been on the road since March 26, 2024. On Thursday, (Sept 18), he passed through Strathmore, heading west. His mission is to raise awareness about the power of resilience, the importance of trauma recovery, and the value of Canada's public health-care system.
"It goes back to 1986, where I was in a hospital," Redmond said, "I got struck by a vehicle and was at risk of losing my leg."
He began his journey at Halifax's Victoria General Hospital, where he was once treated at 15 years old, and has been heading west ever since. By the time he reaches Calgary, Redmond will have walked more than 9,000 kilometres.
The car accident, Redmond reflected, led him to realize the importance of healthcare, mobility, and healing.
"The hospital team that put me back together, right down to the head orthopedic surgeon, Patrick McDermott at that time, got me up on my feet again," he said. "I look back at all of what our health-care system gave me, and all those taxpayers back in 1986 and 1987—they helped put me back together."
Because of that, Redmond says his journeys across Canada are a celebration of the country's health-care system.
This is his third trek across the country and back. He walked once between 2006 to 2007 and completed a second trip by bicycle in 2009. Altogether he will have travelled 35,000 kilometres across Canada.
"I have a motto: the more we move, the more we move others," he said. "And I want Canadians moving Canadians right across Canada and inspiring them."
While Redmond's is on his own healing journey, it's also a public statement that pain should be acknowledged.
"We do sometimes limp through things, through our injuries like I did to recover. I just want to show this dramatically to everybody that this is what we're capable of," he said. "I call this the Run for Courage, and we need courage to get through our health trauma in our lives. That's mental trauma, that's physical trauma. We need to get through it and exercise our minds, our bodies, and our spirits."
As he walks through communities, Redmond says he's experienced both support and loneliness.
He recalled sleeping alone in a tent in St. John, N.L.
"The cost of the hotels at that time were a little too much, so I ended up trying to find a spot to tent," he remembered. "I was close to the Terry Fox Memorial. I ended up camping next to that and I had the RCMP watching me as well as the authority all night to keep me safe."
Redmond's bright yellow outfit was inspired by Rick Hansen's iconic jacket from his Man in Motion tour.
"After Rick Hansen's 25th anniversary there, they did a relay of his journey across Canada, and I took part as a difference maker. After the event was over, I had a yellow jacket that was given to me as part of that difference maker team," he said. "I looked at that yellow jacket and I said to myself, you know what, if I'm going to run across Canada again, I might wear a yellow jacket because it really stands out and keep me safe in traffic."
Inspired by the legacies of Canadian endurance advocates, Redmond now carries on his own legacy as the Fellow in Yellow.
He is encouraging Canadians to donate to the Dollar a Day Foundation, which supports mental health programs across the country. Supporters can also contribute directly to his journey through thefellowinyellow.ca or his GoFundMe page.
Redmond's journey can be followed in real time through a GPS on his Facebook page, The Fellow in Yellow.
"All of Canada is my own backyard." Redmond said. "And for now, the road is my home."