I went to visit my father this past year, and I couldn’t easily believe how cold it was.
and he lived less than a mile from me and he didn’t tell me his oil furnace was broken… I asked when the oil furnace had gone out and he shrugged.
He basically said it was a couple of days, or maybe a week, but he had plenty of overcoats to keep his warm. It wasn’t yet frigid enough to cause pipes to freeze, but it was frosty enough to cause hypothermia if he wasn’t sizzling enough… My father was in his late seventies and had dementia. I knew he would soon need supervision, however I didn’t realize it was this soon. I called the Heating, Ventilation plus A/C appliance company to have the oil furnace repaired, and then I called my husband. I told him what was happening and asked if my father had said something to him about the oil furnace. When he said he had been there a couple of days earlier, and the oil furnace was working, I relaxed a little. We talked about moving him into our dwelling, but father said no. She didn’t want to leave the dwelling regardless of what I said. I asked if he would have a live-in companion, and his response was that they couldn’t touch the thermostat or come into his room at all. I took that as a yes, however by the following Wednesday, I had his oil furnace repaired and there was a local guy who lived on his own. He will move in with my father and help keep him company. It surprised me how well they got along, and whenever there was a setback with the heating appliance, I got an iPhone call from my father’s companion.