Six days after Hall-of-famer Deion Sanders revealed he might lose his left foot to amputation in a worse case scenario, fans of the NFL legend are sending up prayers after learning that Sanders will be going through surgery for blood clots in both of his upper thighs.
The surgery is scheduled for 6 a.m. Friday, according to Jones.
Sanders, 55, announced the procedure in an Instagram video on Thursday that he captioned, "They say the TRUTH will MAKE you FREE. So here’s the TRUTH. #CoachPrime"
In the clip, Sanders revealed that doctors had wanted to perform surgery to fix issues with several toes, but explained had one clot in each leg, which affected the blood flow to his feet. "I went to the doctor the other day to check myself out, and I have two clots in my leg," Sanders said in the video.
"One in my right leg, one in my left leg, which is my thighs. So now, I’m having a procedure tomorrow to try to get those clots, so now I can have proper blood flow through the leg so they can fix the toes," he added.
Sanders already has lost two toes to blood clots, and last week on Instagram, he discussed the lack of blood flow to his left foot. He said he doesn’t have feeling in the bottom of his foot.
“As you know, I’ve faced some medical challenges with my foot but I’ve never said ‘WHY ME,’” Sanders said. “I keep moving forward, progressing.... See you never know what a person may be going through while I sit in your seat of judgement, but you can trust and believe that we are all going through something. Just keep the faith and know that if He brought you to it, He will bring you through it. I’m Coach Prime and I’m built for this. #Coach Prime”
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Sanders missed three games during the 2021 season when he was coaching Jackson State because of complications from his foot surgery.
Deion is right to undergo surgery as these blood clots can be life-threatening if not caught early. Unusual blood clotting can be a killer. Each year in the US, 300,000 to 900,000 people suffer a venous thromboembolism (VTE), which includes deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). African Americans have a 30–60% higher incidence of either or both than people of European ancestry.
As many as 100,000 to 180,000 deaths occur annually due to DVT and pulmonary embolism (PE). Many of these events are preventable by implementation of standard prophylactic measures in certain high-risk populations (eg, hospitalized patients with reduced mobility). However, a large proportion of these occur spontaneously, without clear inciting factors. Identification of novel risk factors for VTE might allow clinicians to better identify at-risk patients and modify both primary and secondary prevention strategies accordingly.
Environmental risk factors for DVT and PE include any situation that decreases blood flow, such as remaining still during travel or confined to bed following surgery. Extra weight, smoking, taking hormones for birth control or postmenopausal symptoms, certain cancer treatments, and pregnancy and recently giving birth are other risk factors that don’t evoke ancestry. Athletes aren’t immune and in fact may be at elevated risk if they travel to sporting events, or become injured or dehydrated and attribute symptoms to the event, not DVT.
Coach Prime said at the time that he was experiencing pain and numbness in his foot. “I don’t have feeling in the bottom of my foot at all,” he explained. “I just want to know what we could do because I want to do it this summer. When we get rolling, I’m not gonna have time to do it.”
He still plans to have procedures to repair a dislocation in his left foot as well as multiple hammer toes. However, these surgeries are on hold until he has proper blood flow in his leg.
“I appreciate you,” he told fans addressing the outpour of support he’s received. “I appreciate your gestures. I appreciate your prayers," he said, and added, "You gotta understand, I ain't going nowhere."
