Funds raised for central Albertan’s difficult journey of vision loss, wildfire evacuation, and more

Returning to Rocky Mountain House for his family doctor and where two of their seven children lived, he says lab results did not show a stroke, but did show a small aneurysm in his brain that was deemed of no concern just yet.

With no real answers, he says he was given the green light to return to work, doing light duty and night shifts, predominantly with just the sight of his right eye.

However, about three weeks later, he began to lose sight in that eye too.

“I watched it go in five hours, like you were looking through a hole, like a scope in your hand. Cup your hand and make a circle, and it just closed tight, and that was it,” he said, speaking from his hospital bed at the University of Alberta Hospital in Edmonton.

Back in Alberta, ophthalmologists prescribed Cody with a large dose of steroids to help with the inflammation and, to his surprise, returned some of his peripheral eyesight in black and white, until the medication wore off.

Cody says the loss of his sight was “a tough pill to swallow”, with the biggest struggle not being able to see the face of his wife.

“I’d be lost without her that’s for sure. She holds my hand when we’re out some place new, steers me, tells me left, right,” he said. “She’s doing everything.”

(L-R) Gail and Cody Sands on New Year’s day, the year before losing his eyesight. (Supplied)

Having to leave her job to be by his side, he says she has reorganized the house to prevent any obstacles and helps him with daily tasks like shaving.

The two spent most of their days driving three hours to Edmonton or four hours to Red Deer for various doctors’ appointments and tests like MRIs and CT scans, trying to figure out why this was happening.

In the midst of adjusting to his new life, the Town of Fox Creek was evacuated in May from wildfires, requiring multiple stays in hotels and take-out food for roughly three weeks.

READ: Wildfire Evacuation Orders in place for many parts of central Alberta

Back home and spending his summer undergoing more exams, doctors now wanted Cody to undergo a Lumbar Puncture test to see if multiple sclerosis was the cause of vision loss. However, this would require him to go off his blood thinners for five days. As a result, Cody suffered a heart attack while on the drive to the test in early September.

Gail swiftly rerouted them directly to the Drayton Valley Hospital, to which he was airlifted to his current hospital in Edmonton.

He says neurologists and ophthalmologists have not stopped in their search for answers.

Over the six-month journey, Cody says they have spent roughly $1,000 a week between gas and motels, and at times even more.

““We had money saved and it looked like we were going to do alright but it just don’t take long. We burned through that pretty fast. I’ve never asked for help in anything, I’ve been in rough spots before, but my daughter in law,” he paused in tears, “she started a GoFundMe and I thought that was pretty cool.”

The GoFundMe has raised $6,800 so far.

With the hospital intercom in the background, he expressed shakingly that it was his first time speaking about his experience and felt overwhelmed with the love and support from strangers.

“I’m just a worker,” he said repeatedly. “It kind of gets you in the heart.”

“I’ve been a labourer my whole life; the harder I worked, the better I liked it. So, it’s another challenge I guess, something I have to push through.”

He credits his strong family support for keeping him going, sharing that he still has his 20^th grandchild to meet for the first time.

“It’s been tough. I know what I got to do; I just got to keep moving forward, pushing on, dig deeper ruts, dust myself off and move on,” he said. “There’s just no quit in me.”

“All my people are here so there’s no point in giving up.”

(Supplied)

A long road ahead, he says he will soon be doing eye and cardiac therapy, and while some of his eyesight comes and goes, it is predominantly in shadows.

With tenacity and fortitude, he says he is striving daily to be more independent, like walking outside by myself. Although, he doesn’t believe he would travel internationally for other forms of treatment as some have suggested.

“I’ll do whatever it takes so I’m not a burden to anybody. That’s my goal; just hope my eyes come back and plan that they ain’t,” he said.

He hopes to head back to work soon in the oil patch in a modified post; returning as the funny guy who keeps people smiling.

“I still got 20 years left in me, 20 good years anyway. I’m shooting for more,” he said laughing.

To donate, head to their GoFundMe page.

by Alessia Proietti

Funds raised for central Albertan’s difficult journey of vision loss, wildfire evacuation, and more

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