SWFL cooling company fixes 88-year-old woman’s air conditioner when no one else would help

Reporter: Sydney Persing
Published: Updated:
Miss Mary Murray (WINK News)

Living without air conditioning in Florida is awful, and for the elderly, it can turn deadly.

When the caretaker for an 88-year-old woman found her client in the heat, she started making calls, hoping to find help and fast.

This is scary for anyone, especially someone who’s elderly and alone; whose brain is sharp but whose body is slowing down.

But this story is not about getting old, it’s about how one man answered a call for help when no one would.

Tucked along a quiet, little street, is a quiet, little house. Inside it — a quiet, little lady.

Miss Mary Murray’s age doesn’t bother her, but she’s quite aware it bothers others.

“‘Can’t you hurry?’ ‘No, I can’t hurry, I can’t walk any faster than this! Unless I wanna be sitting on the ground,'” she said.

So Mary sticks close to home. Tough in this hot weather and without working A/C. Her newly-hired caregiver, Julia DelGreco, started calling companies for help.

“Help her, she’s elderly. She doesn’t have family. She doesn’t have the means,” she told everyone.

But nobody would. They wanted money Miss Mary Murray didn’t have.

“They wouldn’t let me tell her story. They wouldn’t listen,” DelGreco said.

One more call for good measure, she called B&B Cool Air. Matt Borek surprised her, immediately sending his technician saying it was the right thing to do.

“It was 94 the first day I got here, and I just can’t imagine anyone living like that,” said David Kilmaszewski, the B&B Cool Air technician sent to Mary’s house.

A standard, quick enough, easy enough fix that fixed so much for Miss Mary.

“This was probably the best thing that’s happened to Miss Mary in years. Somebody is taking notice of Miss Mary and Miss Mary’s needs,” DelGreco said.

Needs Miss Mary perhaps didn’t even know she had. Needs Borek hopes might kickstart something in all of us.

“If the story makes you feel good, carry it on,” he said. “Whatever field you’re in, whatever you can do for your neighbor carry it on and maybe that person will carry it on and it’ll be a much better place to live.”

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