It may seem strange that I, brought up and lived most of my life in a cold country, simply can’t stand the cold. But there is a reason for that. First of all, when I lived in Sweden I had clothes that was made for the cold. Thick jackets, long-johns, warm shoes, hats. The houses are well insulated and the heat inside is cranked up so you can thaw when you can come inside. The cold isn’t the same type of cold either, it’s a dry cold that you can stand (as long as it’s not raining). And you expect it being cold in a country like Sweden. If you think about Texas you think about warm weather, sunshine and air conditioning. It has a lot to do about expectations, more than you think actually.

Then… when you go through and survive a cardiac arrest there is a lot of things in your body that changes. It wasn’t until after that when the big problems came. Before that, I could handle the cold weather like anyone else but it twisted my entire temperature system in my body.

Yeah, I need to bundle up more than others. It was rainy and 41F (5C) yesterday. I had four layers on on my upper body. I knew my partner wanted to have the AC on in the truck so I had to be prepared. Days like that is crucial for me. Not only does the cold give me muscle pain but my heart rate is turning to a roller coaster. I had just made it to work and I had a short but intense dizzy spell. Sure enough…

My heart had dropped to to 50bpm. I have to admit that I was worried about how this day would go. But thankfully no other drops like this happened until I came home. But this is how my body reacts to cold. It is not a joke to live with this condition, it is a struggle some days. Usually, as long as I’m moving and doing something it is all good but the moment I’m standing still or sitting, I stiff up and my muscles goes into a spasm.

I came home yesterday, had to take a short walk with the dogs to calm Twix down a little and I made me some dinner. Been sitting for a while and was just letting the dogs out a last time before night. Shannon is moody and wanted me to go out with her. The cold hit me hard. I walked two steps outside when my heart started racing. I got chest pain and had to go in. Shannon came right in with me and I made it to let the other two in as well. Then I sat down in the middle of my kitchen on the floor. I had already taken off my watch. I could not move. It took me almost 15 minutes to make it from the kitchen to the bed. I tried to get my pulse manually, it was way over 140 bpm. The chestpain was bad, my muscles stiff and I was so cold. With a heating blanket and two other blankets it took me over an hour to go back to somewhat normal. It was a long time since I had an attack that bad without passing out. But that was the result of being cold all day, and then get it for a short time with less clothes. I decided to skip the morning mingle I had planned for this morning and turn off the alarm so I could just relax until I woke up and recover. And that was good. I slept for almost 10 hours straight.

So when I say I don’t do cold, I really mean it. It is a struggle for me.