As the year starts to die, so does the late-autumn sunlight and any trace of warmth in the air. Tomorrow is the first day of winter. And with the change in season, most encounter the lightening of the skin, the darkening of the hair, and the reddening of the nose. People say that fall brings the most change in color, but I disagree; winter brings the most. But the most remarkable color-change that comes with the cold weather is not in my cheeks, nose, or hair –– but in my hands.

Yes, the change is in my hands. And it isn’t a minor change. When the sunlight and humidity fade and the air becomes cold, my hands turn purple. They don’t just look like they have been tinted purple –– but as if they have been dipped in paint. They look like the hands of Barney the purple dinosaur, but not in a cheerful, cartoonish way. They are the hands of Barney if he were killed and left to decay for years. This is no exaggeration, which the attached images will prove.

The photograph is one of many from an album in my phone dedicated to my hands. It depicts one of the worst instances of my purpleitos, which I call it for lack of a better name. This was from December 28, 2020: a cold time of year like the one approaching now. When people see photos like this, they tell me I should get my hands amputated. I would never resort to this, but I don’t disagree with the opinion that I ought to.

I know you might be thinking that this image has been obscured, maybe by me taking it in odd lighting. But here is a photo in which I compare my hands to another pair (a normal pair).

As you can see, it is all-too-real that my hands are all-too-purple. Yet this is not the only color that my hands take on, and winter is not the only season that changes them. In the summer (or any time I am too warm), my hands turn red. So at some times of the year, I am Barney the dinosaur (with a hint of Cookie-Monster blue), and at other times I am Elmo. Here are a couple of photos from July of 2021.

The second image above makes me reconsider my reluctance toward amputation.

The color of my hands corresponds with their temperature. So if they are purple, they are freezing. If they are red, they are piping hot. At times, some of my fingers are incredibly hot while others are freezing, which causes me to have some red fingers and some chalk-white ones. You can see this bizarre event below.

These photos and descriptions may horrify you, but they are a source of pride for me. My purpleitos is unique, and I would rather have horrifying hands that may indicate some sort of illness than boring hands.