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Love In A Cold Climate
Paula and Justin were just good friends, until they went hiking - 20,000 feet up in the
Himalayas...
Paula and Justin had known each other for 8 years, and had often travelled together after meeting when backpacking in Malawi. Their relationship was platonic when they headed for the Himalayas together last winter. During a ten hour hike, they got lost, and Paula developed frostbite in her left foot. She takes up the story; "As long as I could put one foot in front of the other, I knew I'd be okay. That's all I could focus on. If I sat down, that would be it. I didn't panic, but when I found I had frostbite, I was sickened. That was the lowest point. If I ended up with half a foot, what would happen to all the things I loved, like dancing? I became quite withdrawn."
Justin had never seen Paula in this state, almost completely at the end of her tether. He went ahead and made sure that Paula placed her foot exactly in each of his footprints. If she'd become trapped in soft snow, the consequences would have been extremely serious. Paula says "Justin was a rock, a complete rock. He was very pragmatic and practical. He never said 'just get on with it'."
The problems started when the came down from the mountain. For six weeks Paula was in pain, and didn't know whether part of her foot would have to be amputated. Paula: "I suffered a period of resentment, and I'd feel so frustrated. When we came back to England it was a struggle. For the first week, my lights went out. It took me four months to recover. After four and a half months, I could finally get a shoe on my foot."
Justin and Paula's relationship remained platonic for the time being. It was Valentine's Day last year, when Justin cooked a special meal for Paula and bought her red roses, that they both realised it had changed
"I'd never have travelled with Justin in the first place if I'd not been sure about him, but this experience did change our relationship. He surprised me. I really saw his caring side, always putting me first" Justin proposed on October 4th, and the couple are to marry on Saturday 19th June.
Have you had an experience which altered a familiar relationship?
Who was involved?
How did you feel about it?
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