Grandfather offers warning after suffering frostbite: "I had made a mistake"

MINNEAPOLIS – A grandpa recovering from frostbite cautions others about spending time outside during this NEXT Weather Alert.

Jeffrey "Papa" Love is being treated in the burn center at Hennepin Healthcare, where he's been for two weeks.  

"I had made a mistake, a very serious one," Love said.

He spent an extended period of time outside preparing for a move from Spooner, Wisconsin to Minnesota in early December, during single-digit wind chills, when frostbite could set in within 30 minutes. The Navy veteran knew he had work to do and didn't realize how the cold had taken hold.

"Outside all day. I put my feet down in front of the heater," Love said.

That's when he saw the damage to his now bandaged lower legs and feet.

"Didn't feel a thing. I lifted up my foot, it literally looked like my feet had exploded. I could actually watch it pull the skin off underneath my toes," Love said.

Dr. Tom Masters says frostbite can settle in quickly during extreme cold.

"Our bodies are really good about telling us if something's going wrong, so when it starts to hurt that's when you should start to raise your antenna," Masters said.  

The most common places: our fingers, toes, nose and ears. He says it's important to layer and cover up if you're heading outside.

"Come and get re-warmed, check things out, make sure things pink up appropriately," Masters said.

Treatment at Hennepin Healthcare starts with a re-warming of the limbs in water, a clot-busting medication, and it can turn more serious. The hyperbaric chamber is where severe patients are treated.

"We close the door and there's compressors that push air in here. We think it will help get increased blood flow, increased oxygen delivery to the tissues that are at risk for amputation," Masters said.

So far, Love has escaped needing that treatment.

"I was worried about my big toe and my little toe on this one, they're kind of black, but the doctor seems to think that they're going to be OK," Love said.

He has had surgery and received a skin graft. His message to others: be sure to check on yourself.

"When you think that things are OK, check again," Love said.

Love will spend Christmas in the hospital. Since Sunday, Hennepin Healthcare's emergency department has cared for 29 patients with cold weather exposure issues, like frostbite and hypothermia.