The legendary multi-sport star, Deion Sanders, who famously played professionally in the NFL and MLB at the same time and most memorably suited up for each game, respectively, in the same day, recently revealed that he might need to have his left foot amputated. As ChurchLeaders has reported, the former pro athlete and outspoken Christian lost two toes during a health scare in 2021.
Last week, cameras from “Thee Pregame Show” filmed the newest University of Colorado (CU) head football coach Sanders, known as Coach Prime, meeting with his medical team. The 55-year-old, who’s been walking with a limp since a 2021 ordeal with blood clots and compartment syndrome, described ongoing pain plus the loss of feeling in part of his left foot. A remaining toe is dislocated and sticks out.
“You just have to understand what the risks are,” vascular surgeon Dr. Donald Jacobs told Sanders. “Things can cascade” to the point where you “could lose the foot.” Dr. Max Wohlauer, another vascular surgeon, said the blood pressure near Sanders’ ankle is now two-thirds of that in his arm.
The doctor is right. Unexplained, sudden high blood pressure. Leg pain, swelling, redness and warmth, which may be signs of deep vein thrombosis, often caused by a blood clot in the leg.
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High blood pressure can also cause blood clots to form in the arteries leading to the brain, blocking blood flow and potentially causing a stroke.
If a blood clot, like how Deion’s doctor mentioned, narrows one or more of the arteries leading to the heart, muscle pain known as angina can occur.
If a blood clot blocks the arteries leading to part of the heart muscle, it will cause a heart attack.
“I know what risks are,” replied Sanders. “I only have eight toes, so I’m pretty sure I understand.” He said if doctors recommend an amputation, he hopes to get it over with before the busy football season begins. “This is the best downtime I have,” the coach said of the summer months.
In a June 15 Instagram post, the coach shared the video of his meeting with doctors. In the caption, he wrote: “As you know I’ve faced some medical challenges with my foot but I’ve never said ‘WHY ME’ – I keep moving forward, progressing . . . See you never know what a person may be going through while I sit in your seat of [judgment] 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.”
