92-year-old Texas vet was too ashamed to ask for help, so he heated his home with his stove

The shame did not allow this old man to ask for help and he preferred freeze and endanger his health and his home.

After an Austin police officer found that a World War II veteran was heating up his house using only his stove, the Police Department and the community came together to help him.

"Communities must go back to the way they were, not by sitting down, but by doing what is necessary to help the ones in need," said Mitchell Larson, a member of the Wind Therapy Freedom Riders group of cyclists.

EVERYONE HELPED

Upon learning what was happening with the old man, last Saturday everyone went to the house of the veteran of the Second World War, Louis C. Hicks.

"Mr. Hicks has lived like this for years," said Luis Rodriguez, president of the group of motorcyclists, who also added that it is only a few hours to help him.

The group of more than a dozen people was outside in almost freezing temperatures, cleaning the house for a man who lived a life of service.

It was difficult for Mr. Hicks to express his gratitude with words. "I thank the Americans in the neighborhood for taking care of me," he said. Hicks served in World War II and have lived in East Austin since the 1930s. He did not have a heater that worked, so he used the stove.

The Austin Police Department arrived at his home after reporting a possible robbery; that was when they realized that Hicks was struggling to survive with the little he has.

Louis attended to the needs of his country during the Second World War, but when it comes to meeting his own needs, the proud man did not ask for help.

APPRECIATES THE LITTLE HE HAS

"There is so much that we take for granted," explained Rodriguez. "Until you run into Mr. Hicks, for whom the little he has is the world."

Therefore, the community decided to clean up his home, as an effort to help a former soldier who risked his life for the freedoms that citizens now enjoy.

Fortunately, the old man was also benefited with a heater that was donated by the Austin police department, so he can keep his house warm.

COMPLAINT ABOUT THEFT FINISHES IN HELP AND SUPPORT

When World War II veteran Louis C. Hicks discovered that power tools were missing from the shed behind his home, he called 911 to report the theft.

All he wanted was for the Austin Police Department to catch the guy, but when Officer Chasity Salazar showed up at his door to gather more information, she insisted on taking a quick look inside the old man's house.

At that time, he had no idea that the police had not finished his detective work and was planning to come back with some support to reduce his shortcomings.

Louis attended to the needs of his country during World War II, but when he tried to meet his own needs, the proud man did not ask for help. Fortunately, Officer Salazar saw all the signs of someone desperately needing help and decided to act on behalf of his unspoken words.

TAKING CARE OF OLD PEOPLE

The elderly need and deserve attention to avoid spending their last days in deplorable conditions that can accelerate death. For example, an 80-year-old man with Alzheimer's disease named Jerry Ellingsen was found wandering alone after traveling with his little dog from Fort Myers, Florida.

Ellingsen was found alone and not knowing where he was or even whom he was in the middle of the organized chaos at Denver’s airport. The man, police later found out, had been abandoned by his family.

Every year hundreds of patients with Alzheimer are left to their own devices by family members that had “enough” of them. They hit a wall in dealing with their sick loved ones, and not knowing what do, they prefer to take them to a nursing home, or sending them to another family member.