By Jeffery Sales, 47, is being remembered as a hero after passing away suddenly from COVID-19. One of his colleagues remembers telling him that he didn’t look good at work. He passed away just 12 hours later after testing positive for COVID-19. His sudden death came as a shock to his colleagues and loved ones.
Gone in the Blink of an Eye
Sales worked as a nurse in the COVID-19 ward of a Florida hospital throughout the pandemic. His family says he was fully vaccinated against the virus but suffered from a heart condition. The infection led to heart failure.
His family set up a GoFundMe page to help his widow and children make ends meet now that Sales is gone. It’s already raised over $91,000, far surpassing the original goal of $50,000.
The fundraiser is being organized by RaeAnn Christensen on behalf of Sale’s wife, Chandra Sales.
“Chanda, his wife now has mounting medical bills, a funeral to plan, travel for her family to get back to Utah where they are from, among all the other bills to pay. Jeff was their sole income, as Chanda was a stay-at-home mother to their children,” Christensen wrote online.
“Jeff was one of the most giving people I know and started young by serving in the military. He was so proud to be a veteran. Then he went on to a decades-long nursing career because he wanted to continue serving people. He’s been a Covid nurse throughout the pandemic,” the page reads.
“Everything happened quickly, but even to the end, Jeff thought about his family whom he loved so much,” Christensen added. “He was the best dad and husband.”
Christensen goes on to commemorate Sales’ life. She wrote that Jeff served as a medic in the army in South Korea when he was in his early 20s. While he was there, he had to have open heart surgery. The doctors inserted a metal valve in his heart to keep it pumping.
He then went on to become a nurse at Rocky Mountain Care and Lakeview Medical Hospital in Bountiful before moving to Blake Medical Center in Florida.
She wrote that Sales often picked up shifts and worked overnight during the pandemic.
“He wanted to help as many people as he could,” his son Brayden added. “So, he wanted to be on the higher volume unit and take as many shifts as he can.”
After contracting the virus, his valve stopped working. “His body just couldn’t fight,” Christensen added.
“I hope we can help his family in honor of Jeff who would give everything to his country, and he literally gave his life trying to save others,” she wrote. “I know it would mean the world to him to know his family is okay.”
Christensen added that Chandra and Brayden both tested positive for the virus but are doing okay.
In addition to donating, commenters have also been flooding the page with heartfelt tributes to Sales.
“As a military retiree with my own heart problems that place me at high risk, I have profound respect for all healthcare workers, who sacrifice so much for others… even those irresponsible souls who don’t have this respect, and selfishly think it is all about them as they refuse to get vaccinated, with no regard to heroes like Jeff who make the ultimate sacrifice,” one person wrote.
“This story hits close to home as my husband, a nurse working with Covid patients, is home quarantined after becoming infected. He is 45 and also suffers from a heart condition. I feel so incredibly lucky that he is doing well but acknowledge that I could have so easily been in the same position as Chanda. I will be thinking of her and her beautiful children as they begin the healing process,” wrote another.
Despite this tragic loss, Brayden is proud of his father’s commitment to his patients.
“As hard as it is to say, I wouldn’t change it for the world and I know he wouldn’t either because that’s what he loved,” Brayden added. “And if he wasn’t doing what he loved, he wouldn’t have been happy.”
We wish the best for his family during this trying time.
