Frost Bite? Could Have Been.

Living here in Wyoming has made me learn a few new life lessons with 99% dealing with weather issues i.e.:

• drink more water to keep hydrated since we are considerably living over a mile high and the skin dries out quickly;
• it's okay to park anywhere and anyway you want when a parking lot is covered with snow and ice;
• when it's snowed...NEVER stop in lots of snow or you may get stuck (and I do get stuck);
• always make sure that you clean the snow away from all windows and don't forget the side mirrors!;
• have emergency items stored in your car at all times no matter what time of the year;
• always have a pair of gloves and a hat with me when I go to work as the weather can change quickly and it's ALWAYS cold in the government trucks in the mornings;
• keep wheels straight when driving in deep snow;
• use caution when opening doors during the 99.9% of the days the wind is blowing or you can have your car door ripped off or buckled (I speak from experience);
• etc., etc., etc.

With all these learned lessons, I learned a new one the other night which was a warning for me.

The weather forecast was for 6-8" of snow and I decided to park my car in a grocery store parking lot across a main street very near our home and walk home. It was snowing very heavily and this was compounded by the wind blowing about 35-40 mph. I had on my fur-lined boots with heavy socks, my gloves, my hat which covered my entire head down to my eyes, over my ears and neck, had zipped up my coat and thrown the hood up over my head also and took off walking for the 5 minute or so trek home.

The entire way home the snow was blowing violently in my face and I started literally losing the feeling in my cheeks which where not covered, as well as my nose and my eyes. By the time I reached home, I had no feeling in my face, especially my cheeks. It felt as though I had giant ice cubes on them. For some time that evening I had no feeling in my cheeks, but thought not a great deal about it, in fact joking with Joe about how cold they were.

Anyway, after my shower the next morning, I looked in the mirror and to my surprise both sides of my face looked like I had developed extreme sunburn. Throughout the day, I applied vast amounts of healing lotion to my face - slathering it on would be the best description. Several people with lots of experience living here and with medical training told me that I was very lucky as I appeared to have just been severely windburned, but with just a little more exposure I could easily have been in the early stages of frostbite. Yes, five minutes in that type of weather can be catastrophic I learned. I had applied so much lotion throughout the day that a napkin would stick to the side of my face. It was as though my face was one giant glue stick.

The lesson learned here is that I now have a couple of scarfs in my car at all times, along with an extra pair of gloves. I am also going to be looking for a couple of ski masks so that neither Joe or I will be left without that type of protection ever again.