Elkhart mom-to-be struggles without air conditioning

ELKHART, Ind.-- The heat is uncomfortable for most of us, but for one young woman in Elkhart who is pregnant and without air conditioning, it's almost unbearable. It's also a threat to her health and the health of her unborn baby.

The only relief 19-year-old Janee Brady gets from the heat is from one broken fan in her apartment. The heat isn't the worst of it. She says each day this week she has the fear of losing her child from becoming dehydrated or overheated, hanging over her head.

Janee lives with her mother at Washington Gardens Apartments in Elkhart, which are managed by the Elkhart Housing Authority. Installation of central air conditioning is in the works, but can't come soon enough for Janee, who is 23 weeks pregnant.

“I take showers like three times a day to stay cool, and sit under the fan all day," Brady said.
 
ABC 57 News caught up with Janee and her mom while they were cooling off in the Elkhart Women's Care Center. Janee's mom said she tries her best to keep her daughter and her unborn grandchild cool and hydrated.
 
“We stay downstairs, have the doors open and windows open so when the breeze does come through, we catch it,” Janee's mother Patsy Brooks said.
 
The unavoidable heat makes the ten-minute walk to Janee's prenatal appointments at the care center brutal.
 
“It’s not that far away from my house but it feels like an hour walk in the heat. And then once we get here I’m like, it feels so good in here!” Brady said.
 
Patsy said this week's heat has brought sleepless nights full of worry for her daughter's health.
 
“I want them to be healthy just as myself and staying hydrated and cool, so that she can deliver a healthy baby,” Brooks said.
 
All Janee said she can do is take it one day at a time.
 
“I don’t know what the next day will bring, but just for me one day at a time I try to stay cool, drink a lot of water, and go to all of my pre-natal classes,” Brady said.
 
Patsy is a full-time student at Ivy Tech so she doesn't have the time to work to have extra money for fans. The Elkhart Women's Care Center is asking the community to donate any extra fans to Janee and Patsy as well as any other residents at Washington Gardens who are in need.
 
If you are interested in donating, you can call the care center at (574) 296-6603.