LCPL Janos V. Lutz PTSD Awareness Ride

Inaugural PTSD ride runs from Davie to Pembroke Pines
Forum Publishing Group
By Scott Fishman
January 24, 2014

A cavalcade of motorcycles recently pulled into C.B. Smith Park in Pembroke Pines after a 26-mile trek that started at Western High School in Davie.

The inaugural LCPL Janos V. Lutz PTSD Awareness Ride wasn't your typical bike rally, but a show of support to honor a fallen soldier. The event marked the first anniversary of the day organizer Janine Lutz's son committed suicide after suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The Davie resident partnered with Stephanie Shorr of the Body Mechanics Wellness Foundation for the event. About 700 riders plus several hundred cars participated in the ride.

Shorr said they want to increase awareness and provide programs and services for veterans aimed at reducing anxiety and helping them get through bad times. Lutz gave an impassioned plea to the veterans in attendance to "buddy up" and create a dialogue with their fellow service members.

"I need all of our veterans to start talking about it," she said. "… So many of you are suffering with it and suffering in silence. You are the ones that need to help this get out."

Lutz spoke about her son, a lance corporal who served five years as a Marine with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lutz concluded by holding a statue of a white elephant with the letters PTSD painted on it. She dropped the ceramic piece, shattering it to symbolize that the disorder was no longer the elephant in the room.

"I didn't know any of the warning signs," she said. "… I was aware that he had post-traumatic stress, but I didn't know what exactly that meant. There were a lot of warning signs at that time that now I know, but then I didn't. I feel if I'd had those tools in my hand that probably my son would be alive today."
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