A Fall on Hot Pavement
Grant Siler, a 72-year-old grandfather from Mohave County, Arizona, is recovering from severe burns after collapsing onto a sun-baked sidewalk in Bullhead City on Aug. 3. According to his daughter, Heather Crook, Siler was on an afternoon walk in extreme heat when he fell and was unable to get up for nearly an hour.
The temperature at the time of the fall has been reported differently by outlets. Some reports, citing family members, described the heat as 110 degrees, while the New York Post reported the day as reaching 120 degrees. Regardless of the exact reading, the pavement was hot enough to cause second- and third-degree burns to Siler's legs and feet.
Crook told reporters that her father was "lethargic and incoherent" as he lay on the ground. Bystanders eventually stopped to help, using sun visors to shade him and pouring water on him, while one called 911. By the time Siler reached the hospital, he was unresponsive, and his core temperature had climbed to 105 degrees. At 104 degrees, adults can begin having seizures, a point at which brain damage can start, Crook noted.
A Long Road in the Hospital
Siler was transferred to a burn center in Las Vegas, where he has undergone multiple surgeries. Reports from the New York Post, based on his family's GoFundMe updates, say he has undergone two debridement procedures to remove severely damaged tissue. Other outlets, including Live 5 News and WIS10, reported that he has had three surgeries.
During one surgery, doctors found that tissue in Siler's right leg was so severely damaged that it was unlikely to heal, the New York Post reported. The family wrote in an update that the surgical team determined an above-the-knee amputation would help Siler heal faster and reduce pain. The amputation was scheduled for Aug. 31, though other reports indicated a surgery to amputate a leg from the knee down was planned for the end of the month. The New York Post also reported that doctors found Siler suffered from heat stroke and multiple organ shock.
His daughter recounted a telling anecdote: Siler once dropped an 80-pound cinderblock on his foot and didn't take even a Tylenol. "So for him to holler out," she said, underscoring how severe his current pain is. Crook described visiting her father, a former U.S. Army Green Beret, as he gripped arm rails, his teeth clenched, his body shaking, and unable to speak because of the pain.
His wife, Vicki, has been driving roughly an hour and a half each way to visit him while continuing to work, according to the New York Post.
Contact Burns: A Summer Hazard
Dr. Kevin Foster, director of the Diane and Bruce Halle Arizona Burn Center at Valleywise Health, said contact burns are a serious problem during the Arizona summer, with dozens of patients coming in every day. In comments carried by multiple outlets, Foster said most victims are burned on hot sidewalks or pavement, as Siler was, and that children and seniors are the most susceptible.
Support for the Family
A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help Siler with medical expenses, home renovations to accommodate his new needs, and prosthetics. The family wrote that the road to recovery after an amputation is "long and hard ... physically, mentally and emotionally," according to the New York Post.