I had a really hard time adjusting to life after my injury. It’s hard to believe that only six months ago, I earned my black belt in Judo and felt stronger than ever. Unfortunately, all the physical training in the world can’t save you from a head-on collision with a pick-up truck. While I survived, I came out of the wreck with two cracked ribs and a dislocated shoulder. Despite months of rehab, I still have issues even walking around due to the damage in my abdomen, so I do a lot of sitting and relaxing to avoid pain. Plus, I like to keep the house warm as it allows the muscles to relax a little bit more. I was glad that I just had my furnace thoroughly cleaned out a few weeks before the accident! The heating, ventilation and A/C technician that performed preventive maintenance on the system found a few issues with the furnace when he performed his maintenance, too – the burners within the firebox of the furnace had been warped and damaged, so they weren’t emitting anywhere near as much heat. Plus, the exhaust pipe from the furnace out through the roof was clogged, and only a few more weeks of use could’ve been disastrous for me and my home! The last thing I needed was a house fire, on top of being injured and having trouble moving. When the technician found these issues, he took care of them quickly. He even showed me how to dismantle and check the burners myself if I feel up to it, and he also showed me the tools needed to cleanse the exhaust pipe for the furnace. Of course, I could choose to just trust that work to the technician, which I happily decided to do. I was too busy with my recovery to think about this kind of stuff, so I’ll gladly let my regular HVAC mechanic handle these issues while I can afford it!