Let It Flow... by Jac

I remember my first real scare with circulation. It was my final semester at BYU-Idaho in the fall of 2006. Two of my roommates and I were headed for the gym. It wasn't particularly cold so I couldn't figure out why my toes were going numb. By the time we reached our destination, I had completely lost feeling in my last two toes on my left foot. 

As soon as we were indoors, I tore off my shoes and socks. Those two toes looked abnormally white. They were being deprived of blood flow. What the—!?! 

Thinking that a workout might cause permanent damage to those toes, I told my roommates to go ahead without me and I slowly began my walk home. I took out some frustration on the pillows on my bed, then sat down and began to massage my foot. It took a good hour for my toes to seemingly return to normal. 

Ever since then, I've had random similar experiences with different toes. I also started noticing that my feet got cold and numb at least ten times quicker than anybody else's and at nighttime, my feet were cold as ice. You could actually feel the cold through my socks and blankets. And every time I worked out, regardless of what the workout was, my feet would lose feeling.

I went to the doctor to gain some insight. He ran all the usual tests for circulatory issues. He found nothing and had no answers. He suggested seeing a couple of specialists: one to test me for tarsal tunnel and one to test the nerves in my feet. As if I have thousands of dollars to throw around for testing. My own research pointed toward some of the more mild symptoms of Raynaud's phenomenon and I decided to just let it be.

When I started getting zoned, I didn't notice any recognizable changes with my circulation. But then, I was only getting zoned every three months at best. When I moved back to Idaho this January, however, I noticed something big. 

Sometimes, I'm an idiot and I do stupid things. Like lock my keys in my car when I'm parked behind my sister who's parked in her garage, so neither one of us can go anywhere. Or wear my thin, sport adidas socks everyday, regardless of weather. Or wear slipper-shoes instead of boots when it's cold and snowy outside. 

One day in late February, amazingly, I did all of the above. Determined to get home quickly on my own two feet to find my spare key, I cut through a snowy canal (almost broke my neck getting into it, btw) and trudged through icy streets for just over one mile. Not once, did my feet go numb or feel challenged by the elements!! I attribute that miracle to the zone, as I've been zoned at least once per week ever since I moved back. How cool is that!?!

Remember you only have 6 days left to enter our GIVEAWAY to win three free zones. Good luck to you!!