LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – A Las Vegas woman suffered second-degree burns on both of her feet while mistakenly walking barefoot on the pavement.
On hot days like Thursday, the asphalt can reach temperatures up to 170 degrees.
Amani Fitzgerald, 21, learned a brutal lesson about protecting your feet in the heat.
“I can’t believe it,” Fitzgerald said. “The first day, I couldn’t walk. The next day, I could barely walk.”
Fitzgerald’s sandals broke while she was outside. So she ran barefoot to a grassy area.
“I ran for probably 45 seconds and sat on the grass and by that time I had blisters. But I didn’t really know the severity of it,” Fitzgerald said.
Every month, University Medical Center in Las Vegas treats more than a dozen patients with serious contact burns. Most of them from falls onto the asphalt.
“They hit (the asphalt) barefoot, get halfway across it and think ‘Oh no’, Dr. Jay Coates said. “Then they’ve got no choice… and by that time the damage is done.”
Fitzgerald also works as a cocktail waitress on the Strip.
“Going up and down the stairs is hard so I’ve been scooting on my butt,” Fitzgerald said. “Given my line of work, it’s probably going to be 10 days (to recover) because you’re on your feet for eight hours a day.”STORIES OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON:
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