Friends of French Creek resident Dan Soepboer are organizing a bottle drive to help his family through his difficult unknown health condition.
Last Friday, April 20, Soepboer was discovered at work in Fort McMurray in his vehicle suffering from seizures. He was airlifted to hospital in Edmonton, suspected of having a brain aneurysm and has been in an induced coma since.
“He has the top brain doctors working on him but for some reason they can’t figure out what’s wrong,” reported friend Charlene Zetts.
Still in intensive care, his condition worsened over theweekend and she said his doctors have told his wife Kristina Ronning he may not make it.
As of Tuesday they were planning more brain scans and a biopsy hoping to discover the problem or at least help rule out things like brain cancer or an autoimmune disease.
Zetts said his wife has felt him squeeze her hand, but the doctors then increased the medication to keep him unconscious for his protection as they deal with brain swelling.
She said he is a dedicated family man, having lost his own father to a stroke when he was two, and works extra hard to make sure he is there for his wife and one-year-old daughter Mishelle.
He eats healthy, works out regularly at Jim’s Gym in Parksville and other than the odd beer watching a game, doesn’t drink or do drugs.
Zetts said when her best friend Kristina started talking about how they were going to pay the rent and dealing with other money worries from the hospital in Edmonton, she told her they’d do what they need to here to help her from here.
To that end the couple’s Oceanside friends and family are organizing what they hope will be a massive bottle drive this Sunday, April 29.
They are calling on people to meet at the Parksville bottle depot at 10 a.m. to help out or to drop off bottles at the depot by the end of the day Sunday to the “Dan and Kristina” account.
She said they have had a great response on Facebook, but want to make sure people really get out and help.
For more information e-mail charlenezetts@hotmail.com.