RAYMOND – Twenty-eight months ago, Sandy Winde’s doctors told him he had six months to live.

Twenty-four months ago, in response to twice-monthly chemotherapy treatments for pancreatic cancer, Winde developed peripheral neuropathy, a chronic condition that causes him to feel like his feet are on fire, frozen or walking on pins and needles.

Five months ago, Winde’s weight started dropping again. He’s now down to 119 pounds, down from 186 just a few years ago.

So the 52-year-old former general contractor from Raymond is putting a hold on the chemo treatments until he gains some weight.

In the meantime, despite a heroic community effort to sustain his finances, Winde – a perennial volunteer for the Windham High School athletics program, local Boy Scouts, and the Windham Baptist Church – is facing a financial shortfall.

“They raised a pile of money for me at the beginning of this whole thing,” Winde said. “Even with the disability and my wife’s working, it’s still not enough to cover our bills. We still fall $900 shy a month on just everything – food, mortgage, lights.”

Every month, Winde uses money from a donations account to help narrow the gap. But the account is dwindling, he said.

In order to help Winde stay afloat, the Windham Baptist Church is holding a fundraiser Dec. 20 at 6 p.m. The event, “A Very Sandy Christmas,” will feature live music, including piano and chamber music performances, as well as a public head-shaving session. Winde’s son, Travis, and perhaps 15 others are planning to shave their heads, assuming the fundraiser nets at least $2,000.

There is a $3 entry for the event. The goal is to raise $5,000, which would take care of Winde’s heating costs for the upcoming year, according to Travis Winde.

“We didn’t have any pellets here to start the winter, and I was like, ‘Well, we’ve got to do something about that,’ ” he said.

Winde estimates that he has faced about $100,000 in medical bills since he was diagnosed with cancer. But thanks to an outpouring of donations from the community, Winde has only had to cover about 5 percent of the costs with his own money.

Friends have re-roofed Winde’s house on Main Street in Raymond, finished a remodeling job on his kitchen, and raised thousands of dollars through numerous fundraisers hosted throughout the area, particularly in the months just after he was diagnosed. In addition to money and donations of labor for house projects, a friend of a friend helped introduce Winde to pharmaceutical trials for a new medical treatment for pancreatic cancer.

Winde, who was born in Boxford, Mass., said he is touched by the community support he has received.

“The hardest conversation was with my mother when I told her that I was going to be buried up here,” Winde said. “And she goes, ‘But your home is …’ I said my home is in Raymond, Maine. This town adopted me.”

Despite it all, Winde feels grateful to be alive. Seeing his four boys grow up – Travis is preparing to join the U.S. Navy in coming months – is extremely gratifying, he said.

“I’ve got an awful lot to live for,” Winde said. “I’ve got four boys right now that are really starting into the exciting part of their lives.”

“I know where I’m going and I’m not worried about it,” Winde added. “I’m just not in a hurry to get there. There are a lot of things I want to see, a lot of things I want to do, and most of it circles around them.”

Emily Callahan, a University of Maine student who is close friends with Travis Winde, has helped organize many of the fundraisers. Callahan is prepared to shave her head – including her long, black hair – at the upcoming fundraiser.

“Sandy is one of the most inspirational, loving and bright people I know,” she said. “Ever since I met Sandy he has always had a joke to crack or a word of advice to share, and he will never truly know how grateful I am to have him in my life.”

Family friend Nick Pittman, left, sits with Sandy Winde and his son Travis Winde. Pittman said the community effort on behalf of Sandy Winde has been extraordinary to watch.