I listened to my father about wearing gloves shoveling snow when I was 7.
Man Faces Amputations After Working At Eagles GamePhillips So Excited He Forget To Put On Gloves
PHILADELPHIA -- A local man said he shoveled snow at Lincoln Financial Field for 30 hours getting ready for the big NFC championship game, and now he is in the hospital, in danger of losing his fingers, his toes, his ears and possibly his nose.
James Phillips said he didn't wear gloves because he was so excited about the game. He ended up with frostbite.
"Believe it, we are the Eagles' 12th man," Phillips said excitedly at the time.
Phillips was one of 1,000 people hired to get the snow out of the Linc. When it snowed a second and a third time overnight, Phillips said some quit, but not him.
He even got to stay for the game and have some words with Falcons quarterback Michael Vick.
"I said, 'Not today, Mike.' I said, 'On the 50-yard line, I left a nice little pile of snow for you and some ice,'" Phillips said.
But when everyone was celebrating the win, he said, he knew he was in trouble.
"I felt like someone had pushed me inside of a freezer. It's such a simple thing -- you must be prepared for the weather. The weather's no joke," Phillips said regretfully.
He told NBC 10's Lu Ann Cahn that he was so excited and had so much adrenalin going that he wasn't paying attention to the fact that he had no gloves on. He ended up in Temple University Hospital.
"I waited so long for the Eagles to win and it is so joyful. I would do it again, actually," Phillips said.
Phillips' fingers and toes were so disturbingly swollen and green and black from frostbite, NBC 10 couldn’t show close-up video of his injuries.
Doctors say it looks like Phillips will be watching the Super Bowl from a hospital bed.
"All I need now is a win. I need a win," Phillips said.
Doctors say it will be a couple of weeks before they know if Phillips will lose his fingers or toes.