Or at least, I don't recommend it. There's plenty of knuckleheads who go out and do the polarbear plunge every year, though. I am not one of them.
We have something like that here, except it's called the Feburary Freeze. I don't do it, and I don't think I ever will thanks to your story, lol. But I'm glad everything is all healed up man, that sounds like one hell of a thing to go through.