A rare June frost
June 10, 2008 at 10:55 pm 3 comments
How often do you hear of someone catching a frostbite in Fairbanks in June? I am here to tell you that, while rare, this situation is not uncommon. As a matter of fact, I happen to know someone who just this past Sunday encountered a heavy frost in downtown Fairbanks. Though it was about 70 degrees outside, it was oh so chilly on the inside.
By all accounts, this person was recovering from the Two-way Torture Test. Thanks to miles of uphill on pavement then downhill on pavement the previous weekend, they were icing their knee at a rapid pace. And the fancy blue gel ice pack, fresh from the freezer, plopped skin to plastic (NOTE: when icing a knee with a plastic blue ice pack, put a towel between flesh and plastic) helped the knee to numb right up. In fact, it was so numb and this person was so busy on Facebook, blogging, talking on the phone, reading, or just dreaming off in space contemplating their belly button, that they left the 40 below ice pack on their knee for, well, about one hour. According to this runner, there were some burning sensations emanating from the knee area at various moments, but that only made them readjust the pack to a slightly different angle on the knee. And when the burning returned, more readjusting.
Maybe it was the endorphins from all that running. Maybe reduced brain cells due to lack of oxygen on the uphill. Whatever the reason, it just didn’t sink in for them that the burning sensation was the freezing of their flesh. It wasn’t until Monday at work when they were sitting on their ball, minding their own business, they happened to look down and couldn’t help notice the half dollar-sized purple blotch on their kneecap, surrounded by smaller blueberry-looking patches. At first their mind raced to possible leprosy or a strange flesh-eating fungus. Then it all came together. The burning sensation that felt like a tongue sticking to a frozen chain link fence pole in the middle of January was actually the bite of cold.
Luckily this person survived that heavy June frost and lived to blog about it.
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1.
Jed | June 11, 2008 at 10:48 am
Yikes! I’ve heard of R.I.C.E. but never thought you might actually need some warm liquids or a heat pack to ward against hypothermia. Glad to hear you recovered. Ready for another big run?
2.
brownie | June 22, 2008 at 5:42 pm
at least the blotches were purple…so stylish. and better than full on frost bite. purple is the new black, you know.
3.
carabou | June 22, 2008 at 10:17 pm
How did I guess that purple would be the new black Brownie?? I would highly recommend this homeopathic cream called traumeel. I put it on the purple patches everyday and they have healed completely, without a trace. Happy Solstice!