SAN ANTONIO - There is almost nothing that slows 74-year-old Concepcion Castoreno down - not his age, his two prostatic legs, or even his diabetes.
"I first lost this one from diabetes,” said Castoreno point to his right leg. “Then I lost this one.”
However, what did slow this San Antonio native down a couple months ago was the heat.
"I started shaking and shaking," recalled Castoreno. “It was scary.”
Thursday when Meals on Wheels volunteer, Jo Yankov, stopped by to deliver lunch, she also made sure Castoreno was staying cool.
"Sometimes we are the only people they see all day long," said Yankov.
Checking to make sure the elderly remain safe from the summer heat is also the goal of the “Do You Have a Cool Neighbor?” program.
The Alamo Area Council of Government’s (ACCOG) program kicked-off Thursday – encouraging people to hand out thermostats to their senior neighbors and to make it a habit to check on them regularly.
Dr. Martha Spinks, ACCOG’s aging director, said she hopes programs like this will prevent what happened three years ago.
On July 2nd 2007, two twin sisters on the city’s west side were found dead inside their home.
Both had suffered a heat stroke.
The sisters’ air condition unit was turned off.
“If someone had checked on them maybe that wouldn't happen," said Dr. Spinks.
