Deion Sanders had two toes amputated, could have lost leg due to blood clots
Deion Sanders underwent surgery last fall to remove two toes on his left foot.
The Hall of Fame cornerback and Jackson State football coach missed three games while hospitalized. Details of the procedure weren't made public at the time. On Tuesday he revealed in a teaser for his web series "Coach Prime" that surgeons amputated the big toe and second toe on his left foot after he was hospitalized for blood clots stemming from a previous operation.
According to the Associated Press, doctors initially feared that he might lose his leg.
“They were talking about the amputation of toes,” Sanders said, per AP. “Then they were talking about the amputation of my leg from the knee down. Then, they were trying to ensure I had life.”
Sanders feared he wouldn't walk again
Sanders shared footage from the procedure on an Instagram video promoting "Coach Prime" while writing that he "lost a couple of soldiers in the battle." Be warned, it shows a graphic image of his foot following the amputation.
“The hardest thing of it all was to look down there and see that and understand that once upon a time you were this type of athlete and you don’t know if you’re gonna walk,” Sanders said. “Because all you feel is just pain and you just wanna get out of this hospital.”
Grueling hospital ordeal
Per AP, Sanders developed a femoral arterial blood clot and experienced compartment syndrome, which required doctors to cut his leg open to drain fluid. According to the Cleveland Clinic, compartment syndrome occurs when "pressure rises in and around muscles." It can can "limit the flow of blood, oxygen and nutrients to muscles and nerves" and "cause serious damage and possible death."
Sanders told Andscape that he had eight surgical procedures in total and spent 23 days in the hospital — most of them in the ICU. He lost 40 pounds during the ordeal and needed help in and out of bed and the bathroom after his release from the hospital.
“It was the pain," Sanders told Andscape. "They cut all the nerves and sometimes that thing just throbbed. Ain’t nobody can tell me about no journey. I was fighting for life in there.”
Sanders finished season on Jackson State sideline
Sanders returned to the Jackson State sideline for a Nov. 13 game against Southern after his surgery with the aid of a motorized wheelchair.
Well isn't this a surprise...
Jackson State head coach Deion Sanders made the trip to #Southern as he is still recovering from foot surgery. @WAFB9Sportspic.twitter.com/R4JLNT2jsM— Kevin Batiste (@KBatisteJr) November 13, 2021
Sanders finished the season with the team during an 11-2 campaign that ended in the Cricket Celebration Bowl in December.
