As an intense heatwave gripped Arizona, a grandfather is now facing a life-altering surgery. Following a fall in Bullhead City while temperatures soared to 120 degrees, he will have his right leg amputated above the knee, as shared by his family.
On August 3, 72-year-old Grant Siler’s routine walk took a turn for the worse. After tripping in the sweltering heat, his body temperature shot past 105 degrees.
According to the family’s GoFundMe, Siler lay on the blistering ground for at least an hour before someone discovered him. The fall resulted in severe burns across his body, heat stroke, and a critical condition where multiple organs began to shut down, prompting the urgent fundraiser.
Grant Siler, 72, fell during a walk on Aug. 3 in Bullhead City. (GoFundMe)
Emergency responders rushed him to a specialized burn ICU in Las Vegas, where he is undergoing treatment. Upon his arrival, the medical team diagnosed him with severe heat stroke and organ shock, amid efforts to stabilize his condition.
“He is in constant pain, can barely move, and has undergone two debridements. Also, he will soon need to undergo surgery for amputation, the extent is not yet known,” the GoFundMe reads.
During surgery, a surgeon found that tissue in Siler’s right leg was so severely damaged it was unlikely to fully heal, according to an update posted to the fundraiser.
Siler is scheduled to have his right leg amputated above the knee on Aug. 31, according to FOX 10 Phoenix.
Grant Siler was left helpless and unable to get back to his feet until someone eventually noticed him after at least an hour. (GoFundMe)
“The plan now is to have an above-knee amputation. The Dr’s feel he will overall heal faster and have better pain control this way,” the fundraiser reads.
“We can all imagine that after any amputation, the road to recovery is long and hard…physically, mentally and emotionally,” it continued.
His wife, Vicki, has been traveling one-and-a-half-hours each way to be with her husband as she continuing to work to support the family’s financial obligations. The family said the couple will also soon have to face medical bills to help with Siler’s recovery.
The family is accepting donations to help with home renovations, home medical supplies, prosthetics and other added costs.
Grant Siler now faces an Aug. 31 surgery to amputate his right leg above the knee. (GoFundMe)
Siler’s daughter, Heather Crook, recalled an incident in which he dropped an 80-pound cinderblock on his foot but did not even take a Tylenol.
“He’s hurting really bad,” Crook told FOX 10. “He’s the ‘get up and walk it off’ type.”
“So for him to holler out in pain … it’s really hard to hear. That’s not the kind of person that he is,” she added.