This blog has been suspended for the time being. Feel free to browse past posts (linked on the right, down the page) and photos (album to the direct right).
For further reading on what's happening along the U.S./Mexico Border, you can peruse the following (among others):
http://azstarnet.com/news/local/border/
http://derechoshumanosaz.net/projects/arizona-recovered-bodies-project/
http://www.no-border-wall.com/
http://www.nomoredeaths.org/
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
Hypothermia
Nighttime temperatures can dip into the teens this time of year. Two weeks ago, during a cold snap, temperatures were in the single digits for four nights straight. Daytime temperatures never got above sixty.
Hypothermia in the desert is a strange concept to those who have never been here--those who associate deserts with heat, and drought, and sand. But it snowed here last month, and those crossing rarely carry more than an extra sweatshirt or sweater on their journeys. There are no shelters along the way to rest, and get warm in, no pre-built fire rings that are safe from view, no stoves or hot drinks to fight off the chill.
In October and early November, volunteers found the bodies of migrants. Both died close to desert roads, within hours of the volunteers' arrival. The causes of death for both people were exposure and hypothermia.
Death by hypothermia is a torturous way to die. You don't drift off to a sweet, warm sleep, never to wake, as is a common belief. There are stages that often take days to have full effect.
Technically, hypothermia begins whenever the core body temperature goes below 95 degrees. With this comes shivering, blue lips and fingers, headaches and fatigue. As the body's temperatures drop the shivering becomes more uncontrollable, even violent, and the mind becomes disoriented.
When the core temperature drops below 90, the shivering stops. The body puts more effort into keeping vital organs warm, so the extremities lose their blood flow, while the heart and respiratory rates and blood pressure increase. Amnesia sets in, as does a loss of motor control, and pain--fingers and hands become immobile, and the stumbling begins, leading to a complete inability to walk.
Hypothermia can make a person go crazy.
Terminal burrowing can occur, where a person tries to dig into the ground, or crawl into crevices, under fallen trees, or piles of rocks.
More often, paradoxical undressing takes place, where those suffering from hypothermia will begin to undress, and are found with extra clothing and blankets strewn about. One cause of this is that the muscles used to contract the peripheral blood vessels become exhausted, leading to a rush of blood, and thus a hot feeling in the extremities.
There is no time safer than another to cross the desert. If it's not the heat, it's the cold, if not the terrain, the wildlife, the length of the journey, the bandits, the violent (human) coyotes, or the blister inducing, slippery rock causing rain, among countless other factors.
Despite the freezing temperatures, it has hardly rained this winter--giving those crossing at least one temporary reprieve.
Hypothermia in the desert is a strange concept to those who have never been here--those who associate deserts with heat, and drought, and sand. But it snowed here last month, and those crossing rarely carry more than an extra sweatshirt or sweater on their journeys. There are no shelters along the way to rest, and get warm in, no pre-built fire rings that are safe from view, no stoves or hot drinks to fight off the chill.
In October and early November, volunteers found the bodies of migrants. Both died close to desert roads, within hours of the volunteers' arrival. The causes of death for both people were exposure and hypothermia.
Death by hypothermia is a torturous way to die. You don't drift off to a sweet, warm sleep, never to wake, as is a common belief. There are stages that often take days to have full effect.
Technically, hypothermia begins whenever the core body temperature goes below 95 degrees. With this comes shivering, blue lips and fingers, headaches and fatigue. As the body's temperatures drop the shivering becomes more uncontrollable, even violent, and the mind becomes disoriented.
When the core temperature drops below 90, the shivering stops. The body puts more effort into keeping vital organs warm, so the extremities lose their blood flow, while the heart and respiratory rates and blood pressure increase. Amnesia sets in, as does a loss of motor control, and pain--fingers and hands become immobile, and the stumbling begins, leading to a complete inability to walk.
Hypothermia can make a person go crazy.
Terminal burrowing can occur, where a person tries to dig into the ground, or crawl into crevices, under fallen trees, or piles of rocks.
More often, paradoxical undressing takes place, where those suffering from hypothermia will begin to undress, and are found with extra clothing and blankets strewn about. One cause of this is that the muscles used to contract the peripheral blood vessels become exhausted, leading to a rush of blood, and thus a hot feeling in the extremities.
There is no time safer than another to cross the desert. If it's not the heat, it's the cold, if not the terrain, the wildlife, the length of the journey, the bandits, the violent (human) coyotes, or the blister inducing, slippery rock causing rain, among countless other factors.
Despite the freezing temperatures, it has hardly rained this winter--giving those crossing at least one temporary reprieve.
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