Hi, my name is Carla Sorensen. I am Cody and Gail Sands daughter in law (Ronald's wife). I am setting up this fundraiser to help Cody & Gail with expenses of life and travel for all his medical appointments. And to elevate the stress of everyday day bills and expenses so they can focus on him getting better.

A little back story of Cody's medical history from the past year that has put them in this situation:

March 20, 2023 Cody and Gail were working on a pipeline job in BC he suddenly lost all vision in his left eye. They traveled to Kelowna, BC where the opthomologist believed Cody had an Optic stroke that caused inflammation of his optic nerve. They decided to come back to Alberta for a second opinion and got no answers as to why he lost his sight in one eye, or to why his optic nerve was inflamed. During these tests they did notice that he had a 4mm aneurysm in his brain that was not a concern as if yet. Not getting any more answers on his eye sight they packed up and carried on back to work in BC and tried to manage working with sight in only his one eye. Then come April 21,2023 things went south for Cody and he lost sight in his right eye. Due to this Cody could not work with out any eye sight and Gail couldn't work because she had to care for him, help him adjust to his new condition of being blind and take to and from all his medical appointments mostly in Red Deer, Alberta. They reside in Fox Creek, Alberta. So about a 4 hour drive each way.

To top it off, like many other communities in Alberta this year they were evacuated from their home in Fox Creek due to wild fires and had to have the expensive stay in a hotel for 3 weeks. Yes the government gave the $1200 an adult but that doesn't go far for a 3 week stay in a hotel and expenses incurred during the evacuation.

The appointment following his complete loss of vision April 21, 2023 his opthomologist prescribed him a large dose of steroids to help with the inflammation, this treatment did help a little bit giving Cody some black & white sight out of his peripherals. This was a happy time for him. In his words he got to see his wife's beautiful face again. Unfortunately these steroids only worked while he was taking them. Once the medications were out of his system he lost his sight again, leaving it remaining a medical mystery. After many tests and pokes and prods, and traveling to and from Fox Creek they wanted to do a Lumbar Puncture test on him to rule out MS (multiple sclerosis) as a cause of his loss of vision. For him to do the lumbar puncture Cody would have to be off his blood thinners for 5 days for them to successfully complete this test. Due to him not taking his blood thinners Cody unfortunately had a massive heart attack in the passenger seat of their vehicle on the way to his test. Fortunately his wife Gail was prompt and on the ball and was able to race her beloved husband to the Drayton Valley Hospital where they assessed and decided to send him by air ambulance to the U of A hospital in Edmonton, Alberta where they gave him three stints in one clogged artery. He does have another artery that needs a stint but they had to pick the artery that would save his life. He goes back in 3 weeks to have the 4th stint put in. Let's just add how thankful we all are for him to still be here telling his forever hilarious jokes making everyone laugh and just being him.

Since being in the U of A their neurological & opthomologist team hasn't stopped at trying to find out what's happening with his sight. Still no answers but they are trying their best. Unfortunately because of his massive heart attack he cannot go off his "super" blood thinners to be able to do his Lumbar Puncture for one year.

This poor man has gone through so much medically this past year and his amazing wife has been by his side doing everything she can. But unfortunately bills don't stop and everything is so expensive now a days especially fuel when they are travelling to and from appointments. These amazing people would and will have helped anyone they can. Literally give the shirt off their backs to help someone in need. I understand cost of living is high & times are tough but if you could find the kindness in your heart to help in anyway you can to help my beloved inlaws through this difficult journey it would be very much appreciated. They have no clue how long they will be off work or how long they will be dealing with this. I had no clue what to set the amount to, so I chose this as this would be a good amount to keep them going for quiet some time.

From the bottom of all our hearts thank you in advance for any help or assistance you can provide.

Carla ❤️