‘That’s what ended up saving my life:’ Woman reminding people to prepare for extreme cold

As Saskatchewan and other parts of the prairies sit in the midst of a deep freeze, one woman is using an experience from six years ago to remind people the importance of being prepared.

“I had blankets, I had extra clothing … I had all the things that I thought I needed and that’s what ended up saving my life. But at the end of the day, it just wasn’t enough (to stay warm),” Michelle Rohatyn told Saskatchewan Afternoon with guest host Kevin Martel on Wednesday. “It could have been way worse.”

Rohatyn, who now lives in Calgary, was living in Regina six years ago. During a storm and with whiteout conditions, she was taking the back roads near Regina to get home.

“Courtney Street was completely blocked off with snowbanks. I had done the route numerous times and didn’t think anything of it, but they were building new back-roads out there,” Rohatyn said. “Being that it was a whiteout, I just kind of went over top of a T intersection and went down a hill and got stuck there.”

Due to the conditions, her vehicle was hard to see, and due to her phone being unable to pick up her exact location, she spent more than 12 hours in her vehicle.

“At the end of the day I called one of my buddies that was a hunter and knows how to track down people and animals and what have you,” Rohatyn said. “He searched for almost eight hours before they found me.”

While the extra blankets, clothing and having her car running saved her life, she didn’t escape from the incident unscathed.

“I got third-degree frostbite on my knees down and my hands. I spent two weeks in the hospital and then another couple weeks learning how to walk again,” Rohatyn said. “Still to this day I have arthritis in my hips and in my legs and all my joints, but nothing got cut off so that’s nice.”

She has posted photos of her frostbitten legs and feet to Facebook to share her story and the importance of being prepared. Saskatchewan and other parts of Western Canada have had wind chill values that are in the -40 C range.

“Lots of people have their opinion this couldn’t happen in a running car and it obviously did,” Rohatyn said. “After the blisters broke, it almost got to the point where we were going to have to do skin grafts because it was just raw, it was all brand-new skin.”

And she has some advice for people heading out on the roads in the cold.

“Keep extra everything. Make sure your phone’s charged, make sure you have a full tank of gas wherever you go. If you have passengers make sure they have extra clothing and have extra boots and if you have animals, make sure that they’re OK,” Rohatyn said. “Just make sure you have everything you can possibly think of in that truck because you just never know what could happen and how easily it happens.”