Followers who attended the Chiefs-Dolphins playoff recreation on Jan. 13, the fourth-coldest NFL game on record, are being suggested to have their affected physique elements amputated.
In line with reports, 69 individuals have been handled by the fireplace division on the recreation. Half of these handled offered with signs of hypothermia. At kickoff, the temperature was -4℉ with a -20℉ windchill. By the point the sport ended, the temperature had dipped to -9℉ however felt like -28℉.
“The patients who had their frostbite injuries along with the Chiefs game, they are just getting to the point now we are starting to discuss their amputations that might be necessary,” Dr. Megan Garcia mentioned to FOX 4 KC. Garcia is the director of the Grossman Burn Heart in Kansas Metropolis.
The fingertips of one fan, who took their gloves off for only five minutes to set up a tent in the parking lot for tailgating, turned red before ending up purple. 70 p.c of frostbite victims from January are being suggested on whether or not or not they need to amputate, and 30 p.c who’ve been suggested are beginning to search therapy with hyperbaric oxygen tanks, a tool used to hurry up the therapeutic course of on wounds that received’t heal.
Remedy within the hyperbaric tanks will hopefully enable these followers to maintain their extremities, however they are going to nonetheless encounter life-long points.
“It’s still a lifelong process. They’ll have sensitivity and pain for the rest of their lives and always will be more susceptible to frostbite in the future,” Garcia mentioned. “So we are also educating them to make sure they stay warm for the years and months to come.”
