Every day for the past 10 years, Edward Sanderson has faced excruciating back pain.<\/p>\n
Sanderson injured his back while working on a potato farm in Grand Forks, and ever since he has struggled with crippling agony that leaves his legs \u201cvibrating\u201d by dinnertime.<\/p>\n
The pain makes it difficult for him to stand, harder for him to walk and nearly impossible for him to work, says the 55-year-old.<\/p>\n
But some days Sanderson also experiences the psychological agony of worrying he may not be able to provide food for his 12-year-old son Jadyn. With the help of the New Westminster Salvation Army, however, the single father and his son will have both food and presents this Christmas.<\/p>\n
The New Westminster Salvation Army is one of 27 beneficiaries of The Province\u2019s Empty Stocking Fund, which raised $324,000 last year so that people going through difficult times are able to receive gifts, food and clothing over the holiday season.<\/p>\n
For Sanderson, the Salvation Army\u2019s support means \u201clife,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re just awesome, they help out so much. I go there every chance I get. Without it, we\u2019d be going hungry at a lot of times.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanderson visits the Salvation Army up to four times weekly for groceries and receives food hampers throughout the year.<\/p>\n
He receives government support and has found some work helping the Salvation Army fundraise, but because his back pain has become worse over time, he has struggled to find full-time employment.<\/p>\n
His voice broke as he spoke about his inability to provide for Jadyn.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s times when he doesn\u2019t give me notices, like for pizza day,\u201d Sanderson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s worried that I won\u2019t have enough money for him. I\u2019m out there collecting cans most days and doing what I can a lot of times just to get food.\u201d<\/p>\n
The father and son don\u2019t have family nearby and Jadyn\u2019s mother moved away when he was two years old, but Sanderson stays in touch with Jadyn\u2019s maternal grandmother, who Jadyn visits every summer.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a chance for Jadyn to have a \u201creal family life\u201d, Sanderson said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t even play soccer with my boy. I can\u2019t throw a ball because of my back. I can\u2019t go for a walk with him. I\u2019ve lost so much hope.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sanderson hasn\u2019t lost all hope, however, and looks forward to April, when he\u2019ll meet with Surrey\u2019s Aboriginal Community Career Employment Services Society to talk about finding work driving cabs, which he did before switching to heavy labour on farms.<\/p>\n
He also hopes that Christmas will be a chance for him and Jadyn to forget about their worries for a time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty basic,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have presents, what we can, and get a food hamper from the Salvation Army. They have presents that we can pick out for him. Last year, we didn\u2019t even have a tree and I\u2019m wondering whether I can get one this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
* Story from The Province | neagland@theprovince.com<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Every day for the past 10 years, Edward Sanderson has faced excruciating back pain. Sanderson injured his back while working on a potato farm in Grand Forks, and ever since he has struggled with crippling agony that leaves his legs \u201cvibrating\u201d by dinnertime. The pain makes it difficult for him to stand, harder for him […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2233,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"location":[],"class_list":["post-2232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n