A 72-year-old Arizona man faces amputation at a Las Vegas hospital after a fall in near 120-degree heat left him with severe burns.
Grant Siler tripped and fell onto gravel on Aug. 3 while walking in Bullhead City, Arizona. Siler was unconscious on the ground for at least an hour before he was found, according to a GoFundMe for the family.
His daughter Heather Crook said she was in the middle of asking her children about their first day of school, when two people knocked at her door. They had found her father after the fall and called an ambulance to take him to the emergency room.
Crook, a nurse, said she began to imagine all the likely scenarios — maybe he had a stroke or a fractured his hip. What she never imagined was that her dad received second and third-degree burns from the hot gravel that would result in loss of limb.
“When I walked into the trauma bay and I saw his leg, there were several areas, particularly around his knee, that were burned to the bone,” said Crook.
In addition to the burns, he suffered from heat stroke, multiple organ-shock and a blistering sunburn on his back.
He was taken to Sunrise Medical Center on Aug. 4, where he awaits above-knee amputation. His wife, Vicki, and Crook frequently commute an hour and a half from Bullhead City to Las Vegas to care for Siler.
According to Crook, Siler was OK with losing his leg if it meant less pain. He felt optimistic that with therapy and prosthetics he will be able to learn to drive and ride his motorcycle again.
On Saturday, he found out that the surgery would not take place until next Monday.
“When he heard that surgery is 10 days away, he broke,” said Crook. “He just can’t endure the nerve pain, the burn pain, the bone pain that he’s having.”
Siler has lived in Arizona since 1988 and is no stranger to extreme heat.
Crook described him as a determined, faithful and stubborn man and a pillar for his family.
The family’s GoFundMe campaign looks to raise $10,000 to help cover medical bills, prosthetics and accessibility renovations for their house.
“We’re just hoping and praying that his surgery can happen as soon as possible,” said Crook.
Contact Kalohe Danbara at kdanbara@reviewjournal.com.
