When the Miami Dolphins hosted the Kansas City Chiefs in the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs, the game went down in NFL history as one of the coldest games of all time. Despite the freezing temperatures, crowds of fans flocked to Arrowhead Stadium to support their team. However, some supporters paid dearly for their visit.
The January 13 game was the fourth coldest in NFL history and had the lowest temperature recorded at Arrowhead Stadium since it opened in 1972. 70,000 fans crowded the stands while the thermostats showed temperatures as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius.
As the New York Post reports, some Chiefs fans are suffering complications from frostbite they sustained during the game.
“The patients who suffered frostbite at the Chiefs game are now just getting to the point where we’re starting to talk about potentially needing amputations,” said Dr. Megan Garcia, head of the department at the Grossman Burn Center at Research Medical Center, told FOX 4 KC.
Frostbite causes lifelong damage to NFL fans
Overall, around 70 percent of all patients who have been treated at the facility since January are said to have to expect an amputation. Many of them were Chiefs fans.
The remaining 30 percent of patients were treated in hyperbaric oxygen tanks in the last few weeks. These people will keep their fingers and toes, but will suffer from the effects of the cold for a long time.
“It’s a lifelong process. They’re going to be sensitive and in pain for the rest of their lives, and they’re going to be increasingly susceptible to frostbite in the future,” Garcia said. “So we’re also educating them to make sure they stay warm in the years and months to come.”
The worst hit was a fan who only took off his gloves for five minutes to set up a tent in the parking lot. He’ll probably lose all his fingers.