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A woman confined to horrible living conditions in Tooele is on her way to a better life thanks to generous friends and strangers. She lived without hot water for more than a year until her neighbors got action.
Imagine living without a water heater and furnace for more than a year, heating water in a coffee maker for sponge baths to cook and to clean clothes. That was the life for Linda Noyes, and to make matters worse, she suffers from Multiple Sclerosis.
Last year, Noyes and her husband of 42 years sold their house to move to a mobile home. But she says he dumped her in the unfinished home with no furnace no water heater and no money left in the bank account. "He just skipped town. That's it. I had nowhere to turn, except to them (her neighbors)," she said.
Noyes showered at a neighbor's home and shivered in her sleep. Today, her 60th birthday, big changes were made. "The love that goes into this, the care that is being put into this for her, blows my mind," neighbor Amy Winn said.
Amy and Andrew Winn called Action Plumbing, Heating and Air. When the company saw Noyes' situation, it decided to do the work for nothing. "We got a phone call saying, 'Don't worry about anything. We're just going to come and do it all for free for her.' And, I mean, you know, it's something else," Andrew said.
"It's unbelievable. It's extremely touching. I had no idea there were people out there who cared enough," Noyes said.
The plumbers say a new water heater was no big deal and was worth it. "[Her story] touched the heart, so we decided to come out and do it for free," said the company's manager, Steve Andreason.
Noyes says she knows others, people in similar trouble living without hope. "This has got to stop. People have got to reach out," she said.
Noyes is thankful her neighbors did. She said she had no hope, but now she is hopeful and optimistic for the future. The love of her neighbors has given her the strength to go on.
E-mail: jboal@ksl.com
