If you have teenagers, show them this article and read it with them.
This can happen to any person in any area which is experiencing sub-zero temperatures. Take great precautions especially where children and teens are involved.
Cautionary tale: “I want to put out the warning and ask parents to please talk to their children – again – about the importance of dressing for the weather and how dangerous it is to have exposed skin in these temperatures.
Our 16 year old was too impatient to wait for a ride home from school so she walked 45 minutes home in -25 weather on Friday with no gloves or mitts. We spent Friday night on doctor’s instructions soaking her hands for 10 minutes every half hour for 12 hours to get the blood flow going in her fingers.
She was in tremendous pain and could only tolerate lukewarm water. The next day we ended up in the ER because the blisters started to form on her fingers and she still had no feeling in them. It looks like, long term, the tissue will recover but we don’t know the extent of the nerve damage in her hands or when she will get feeling back in them.
She still (60 hours later) has no feeling in the tips of her fingers and has a hard time using her right hand. Please remind your children of how dangerous this weather is and why we parents are always hounding them to wear proper winter clothing. Pass on these images.
NOTE: this post is not about shaming my daughter or teenagers or parents. It’s about providing a means to opening a dialogue with our kids that includes visuals that will hopefully resonate with them when parent’s warnings won’t.
UPDATE: We have some good news after a follow-up doctor appointment today. My daughter has good blood flow in her fingers. The tips of her figures are numb and stiff because the tissue is dead. The doctor said the tissue will regenerate over the next 3 months. The nerves; however, are a different story. They will take a long, long time to heal.
Because her blood vessels have been damaged she will forever have reduced blood flow in her right hand. This means that she has to be very careful that she doesn’t further damage those blood vessels. Her right hand will always be at risk. She has to wear gloves when the weather is cool and can’t risk getting her hand cold again. He told her she got very, very lucky. She could have lost her fingers. Thank you for the support and thank you for sharing.” -Anonymous Concerned Parent
