As with the previous post on heat waves which tackled the susceptibility of the aged from too much sun, it goes the same with cold weather. The story of an elderly man, a war veteran dying due to cut of electricity caused outrage within the community as the power company installed a current limiter due to past bills. The elderly man was found when a neighbor noticed the windows having frost from the inside prompting them to check on his home, resulting in them finding him dead frozen in the middle of winter. Such is the frailty of the elderly who cannot do much about extreme weather and with such cases, a few hours is all it took for him to pass away due to the biting cold. Hypothermia can kill but with the elderly it goes faster for their slow movements and atrophied muscles cannot shiver as much as they should to provide heat to the core of the body. Aging muscles, stiffening or blocked veigns and arteries also add to the problem which makes it easier for them to suffer with extreme weather.
The power company receives tons of complaints and criticism on their actions that had their people fail to notify the man that the device could be reset from the outside of the house which should have brought the power and heat back on. They should also have people who go around on a daily basis on such elderly folks who do fail to settle and get these devices installed to prevent a recurrence of the man’s ordeal. The power company has vowed to stop using the devices for now for as the weather gets wither hotter or colder, elderly people risk losing their lives in so short a time.