. >> reporter: something as simple as sweeping the floor can be a problem for russ davidson. for safety the retired sheriffs detective often wears a bike helmet around the house and he had to tear out his lawn because he couldn't operate his mower anymore. it started in 2018 when co-workers noticed something odd happening. >> they could see the droop, hear the slur in my voice. >> reporter: he regained his speech but was left in a constant state of fatigue. he had to give up his volunteer job at a sonoma behavioral health facility and it would have been easy to fall into self pity. but that's not a path he normally takes. >> i have always been about service. it's in my dna. >> reporter: him to red wood empire food bank in sonoma. at this weekly give away, people line up down the street to get boxes of surplus food donated by local grocery stores. it helps families put food on the table but the program coordinator says it also helps volunteers like russ to forget their own problems for a while. >> you don't have a chance thinking about what's going on with your health, what's

. >> reporter: something as simple as sweeping the floor can be a problem for russ davidson to go for safety the retired nurse detective often wears a bike helmet around the house. he had to tear out his front lawn because he could not operate his mower anymore . it started in 2018 when his coworkers noticed something odd happening. >> they could see the droop and hear the slur in my voice. they could see my balance was off. >> he was having a stroke over the next few years he regained his speech but it left him in a constant state of fatigue. he had to give up his volunteer job at the sonoma county behavioral health facility . it would have been easy to fall into self-pity , that is not a path he normally takes. >> about service . it is in my dna. >> reporter: it was that dna that brought him to the redwood empire food bank in sonoma county. at this weekly giveaway, people lined up down the street to get boxes of surplus food donated by local grocery stores. it helps families put food on the table. the program coordinator says it also helps the volunteers like russ forget their own p