Without air conditioners, some struggle to beat heat

The air conditioner went out a few weeks ago, at just the wrong time.

Amy Kilburn and her children didn't know it, but in a few weeks they'd be roasting, trying to find relief from the heat wave that has engulfed Southeast Missouri this week, trying to keep Kilburn's 1-year-old Raymond from getting too sick.

But all they could do was try. As long as they were at their home on North Spanish Street in Cape Girardeau, there would be no relief. And on Tuesday night the infant's health wouldn't hold up. He vomited up his dinner. The nighttime lows in the 70s did little to rid the house of the heat left over from highs in the upper 90s.

The experience left Kilburn scrambling to get anything she could to help her family cope with the high temperatures.

"Just a fan is better than nothing," Kilburn said Wednesday.

She has no thermometer, but inside the house is hotter than outside, and outside it's in the mid-90s.

"I wouldn't even want to know," Kilburn said.

She had turned to the Salvation Army for help. They couldn't immediately help get her air conditioner running again, but they could spare a fan. Kilburn tried to make sure her children were in places with air conditioning as much as possible, including their aunt and uncle's house down the street.

She knows when her children are getting too hot.

"They deal with it, but you can tell when they're too hot because they're cranky," Kilburn said in the middle of Thursday's afternoon heat. Her 11-year-old daughter, Jackie, takes Raymond out of his playpen and sits him in front of a box fan blowing air in from outside.

Kilburn and her children aren't alone in suffering during the current heat wave. They are just one of many families and individuals in the area struggling to stay cool in the summer heat.

Highs climbed into the mid- to upper 90s this week, and heat indexes shot above 100 degrees, reminiscent of a heat wave last July that killed three people in Cape Girardeau and Scott City. But this year's conditions weren't as bad as last year, when the highest heat index during a heat wave from July 21 to 26 reached 117 degrees in Cape Girardeau. So far no deaths have been attributed to the heat wave.

Cape Girardeau's heat index Wednesday was 107 degrees. The heat index Thursday reached 109 degrees at the Cape Girardeau Regional Airport, according to the National Weather Service.

The week's heat put agencies serving the poor, elderly and disabled on high alert.

Those agencies opened their doors to those seeking relief and made sure to check on clients they knew were without air conditioning, while the city opened up the Osage Community Centre for the same purpose.

"We're here at the center daily, Monday through Friday, and should someone need to be here longer than normal operating hours, we would help them with that," said Susan McClanahan, director of the Cape Girardeau Senior Center.

McClanahan said senior center drivers delivering meals to homebound patients also checked to make sure their air conditioning was working properly. If someone does have a problem, McClanahan said, helping them takes top priority after the deaths the area experienced last summer.

"I wouldn't say it's inevitable, but we do worry about it," McClanahan said of heat-related deaths in seniors.

Those at most risk from the heat are the elderly, sick and young children, not only because of health but because the elderly and disabled are sometimes too poor to afford air conditioning.

Kilburn is one of them. Spine and joint problems coupled with carpal tunnel syndrome in her wrists prevent her from working, so she lives on a fixed income. That leaves no money to replace her window air conditioners when they break down, leaving the family depending on strategically placed fans for heat relief.

The danger might be greatest for seniors, said McClanahan. Drastic overheating can creep up on them.

"Senior adults tend to like it warmer, so many times it's pretty warm in their homes anyway," she said. "They cut back on air conditioning for financial reasons, and as the home gets warmer they don't realize how hot it's getting."

Some people were able to receive the help they needed just in time. Working with the Area Agency on Aging, AmerenUE delivered nearly 50 air conditioners to low-income and elderly fixed-income residents of Cape Girardeau starting in early July.

Jerry Medley of Cape Girardeau had an air conditioner delivered to his home Wednesday. Before that the heat had been nearly unbearable, and he had to sit under a shade tree outside to stay relatively cool.

"It's been hard to sleep," Medley said. The relief came at the perfect time, he said.

His sister, Shirley Davis, was the one who contacted local service organizations for help and eventually found the Area Agency on Aging.

"We were just hoping to get a fan, not an AC unit," she said.

Marjorie Johnson, 82, said in past years she was able to deal with the heat using an attic fan and other fans. She received an air conditioner through the program earlier this month.

With her family living in Michigan, she'd have nowhere to go when the temperatures got too high. "I wasn't worried about it, because I got by without it last year and I knew I'd be OK," said Johnson.

Now that she has an air conditioner, she can worry even less.

The East Missouri Action Agency also offers air conditioners but to people who have heat-related medical conditions.

The heat wave is expected to dissipate today, bringing relief to families like the Kilburns. Highs are expected to reach 92 degrees today and drop into the low- to mid-80s this weekend.

For Kilburn, that news is a big relief.

"When the weather says it's going to cool down, I'm like 'Yes!'" she said.

msanders@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182

Signs of heat exhaustion:

Heavy sweating

muscle cramps

fatigue

weakness

cold or clammy skin

dizziness

nausea or vomiting

fainting

Ways to help those suffering from heat exhaustion:

Help the person to a cool place. Lay them down and raise their legs.

Give the person plenty of water or sports drinks.

Take them to a doctor, even if they recover quickly.