Jason Pierre-Paul says doctors wanted to amputate a lot more than just his finger after fireworks accident
New York Giants defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul missed the first eight weeks of the season after a bad fireworks accident on July 4.
Pierre-Paul had to have his right index finger amputated, lost some of his thumb, and now wears a giant club on his right hand or a four-fingered glove.
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There were concerns about whether Pierre-Paul could ever play again, but clearly, he's been able to get on the field, playing the last four weeks for the Giants.
In an interview with the New York Post, however, Pierre-Paul said his future in football was almost far more cloudy when doctors told him they would need to amputate his entire hand the night of the accident.
%shareLinks-quote="I might say it's severely damaged or whatever, but I knew it wasn't that bad, like I can still play football." type="quote" author="Jason Pierre-Paul" authordesc="" isquoteoftheday="false"%
"Even the doctors counted me out," Pierre-Paul said. "They were like, 'Yeah, we're gonna have to cut his whole hand off.'" Pierre-Paul added that the doctors said, 'I don't think we'll be able to save it,' with Pierre-Paul noting, "I knew that wasn't the best hospital to be at."
Pierre-Paul also said he lost a lot of blood and passed out, though he wasn't scared. He said he told doctors not to cut off his hand before passing out. He told doctors not to amputate it because, "It's easier to take a shortcut out. I knew for a fact that my hand ... I might say it's severely damaged or whatever, but I knew it wasn't that bad, like I can still play football."
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Of course, Pierre-Paul didn't lose his entire hand, but the accident set off a series of events. When Giants doctors came to see him in the hospital, he refused to see them, seemingly hiding the extent of the damage. For a while, it was unclear just how badly JPP's hand was until a report leaked that he had his index finger amputated.
Luckily, he still has his hand and has returned to the field, giving the Giants a much-needed dose of pass rushing.
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