My dad’s health collapsed over the last year.
For most of his life, he has had a rare disorder that makes his bones weak.
He has had more fractures and breaks from head to toe than any other human being I have met in my life. Despite this huge hurdle, I have seen him get back on his feet each time after mending his injuries. That was until he fell off a ladder last year and broke his hip in three places. As bad as this was, things continued to worsen as time went on. Having the hip injury was debilitating, and when he had a tiny bit of mobility again, he had lost so much strength and agility in his body that moving awkwardly without much control caused him to fracture parts of his back and the base of his spine. The latter happened when he lost control of his walker and fell backwards onto the hardwood floor in his house. I have been living with him and helping him to the best of my ability. I’m also cooking for him daily and running all of his errands, including his grocery shopping and driving to the drug store to get his prescription medications. We’re getting closer to winter and I have been trying to get him and his house ready for the eventual freeze. I made sure to pay to have the gas boiler inspected and serviced right at the onset of autumn, well in advance of the year’s first snowfall. Thankfully, there were no repairs needed and his system was in great shape after a meticulous visual check. Having the radiant heat from the gas boiler is an immense joy when cold and uninsulated attics make fan forced heat inefficient and problematic. He also has radiant heated flooring, so much of the boiler’s water goes underneath our feet to heat the air in my father’s house.