Max showed up at my house last week, & I was set to call an ambulance.
His lips were angry red, & he couldn’t stop shaking. When I gave Max a hug, he was so chilly that I became more distraught. I sat Max on the couch & covered his with a blanket. Within minutes, Max quit shaking & was getting his color back. I asked him why he was so cold, & he told me his furnace broke a couple of mornings ago. Max couldn’t afford to get it fixed, & Max thought he could get by with a small space heater, however it wasn’t working. My follow-up question was; why didn’t he call & tell us he didn’t have any heat in the house? When Max told me he didn’t want to bother us, I almost yelled at her. I was his son & talked to Max every day. I couldn’t figure out why he hadn’t said something when I asked Max if everything was okay? She could have told me the furnace was broken. My wife and I had a spare home office where he could stay until the furnace got repaired. I was now angry enough that I was going to tell Max I would go to the house & pack his clothes, & not supply him with a choice about whether he should stay with us, then before I could spout off, Max asked if he could stay with us until the furnace was repaired, or longer? Now I can talk to Max about selling the house & moving in with us. I’m hoping that going separate from a furnace makes Max realize he shouldn’t be living alone.