Hospital Confirms Amputations for Fans Frostbitten at Chiefs Playoff Game

In January, during an especially chilly spell, some folks who braved the freezing temperatures to attend a Kansas City Chiefs playoff game ended up facing a serious health issue: frostbite. Research Medical Center in Missouri shared that they treated quite a few people for frostbite during an 11-day cold snap. Among them, a dozen individuals—some of whom were at the game on January 13—had to go through amputations, mostly on their fingers and toes. The hospital mentioned that more surgeries might be needed in the coming weeks as the injuries continue to develop.

The game between the Dolphins and the Chiefs was a real freezer, with the thermometer dropping to a bone-chilling minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 20 Celsius). Add in the wind, and it felt like a teeth-chattering minus 27 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 33 C). This shattered the record for the coldest game in Arrowhead Stadium history.

While the cold made headlines, another NFL game faced a different challenge. The Buffalo Bills were set to play the Pittsburgh Steelers, but a massive blizzard dumped up to 2 feet (0.61 meters) of snow in New York, forcing the game to be postponed for a day due to dangerous travel conditions.

Despite warnings about the dangerously cold weather, the game in Kansas City proceeded as planned. Unlike the situation in Buffalo, getting to Arrowhead Stadium wasn’t as much of a hassle, even with the bone-chilling windchills.

Dr. Megan Garcia, from Research Medical Center, explained that frostbite can happen pretty quickly, especially in harsh conditions. Exposed skin can start getting frostbite within just 30 minutes, and it happens even faster if there’s a windchill factor.

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