Grant Siler’s family says the 72-year-old Arizona grandfather will have his right leg amputated above the knee later this month after a devastating fall on a scorching sidewalk.
Siler, from Mohave County, tripped and collapsed during a walk in Bullhead City on Aug. 3, when temperatures hit 120 degrees. He lay helpless on the pavement for at least an hour before someone found him, according to a GoFundMe campaign launched by his family.
By the time help arrived, Siler had suffered severe burns across multiple parts of his body. His body temperature had soared to over 105 degrees. He was rushed to a Las Vegas burn intensive care unit, where doctors also diagnosed him with heat stroke and multiple organ shock.
He initially sustained second and third-degree burns from the pavement. Siler has already undergone two debridement procedures to remove severely damaged tissue and remains in constant pain.
During surgery, doctors discovered the tissue in Siler’s right leg had been so badly damaged that it was unlikely to ever completely heal, according to an update posted by his family. The medical team determined an above-the-knee amputation would give him a better chance of healing more quickly and lessen the pain.
“During surgery the surgeon found that the tissue in Grant’s right leg is so extremely damaged that it would likely not ever fully heal,” the family wrote. “The doctors feel he will overall heal faster and have better pain control this way.”
He can barely move and is facing a long recovery that will now include the amputation surgery scheduled for Aug. 31. The family said the procedure will bring extensive changes to his home and create needs for medical equipment and prosthetics.
“We can all imagine that after any amputation, the road to recovery is long and hard … physically, mentally and emotionally,” the family wrote.
His daughter, Heather Crook, recalled an incident where Siler dropped an 80-pound cinderblock on his foot but didn’t even take a Tylenol. “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 told FOX 10.
His wife, Vicki, has been making the roughly one-and-a-half-hour trip each way to be with her husband while continuing to work because of the family’s mounting financial pressures. The family said the couple will soon face significant medical bills on top of the costs associated with Siler’s recovery.
The GoFundMe campaign is seeking donations to help cover those expenses, including home renovations, medical supplies and prosthetics. “Thank you to all who have helped so far, let’s keep this going!!” the family wrote in its latest update.
In the viral moment that sparked national attention, Siler’s ordeal highlights the lethal danger of extreme heat on Southwest pavement surfaces, where ground temperatures can exceed air temperatures by dozens of degrees and cause catastrophic burns in minutes of contact. His case has drawn renewed focus to heat-related injuries as the region faces increasingly severe summer conditions.
The extent of Siler’s long-term recovery remains uncertain, but his family says the immediate focus is getting him through the surgeries and helping him heal.