Rescued Couple May Still Face Amputation : Survival: Doctor finds ‘very severe’ frostbite damage on feet of pair who were stranded for more than a week in snow.

The prognosis for a couple stranded with their infant for more than a week in the snowy Nevada outback turned grimmer Friday as doctors predicted that James and Jennifer Stolpa would lose toes or portions of their feet to frostbite.

Dr. Louis Bonaldi, a Reno microsurgeon and frostbite expert, said the Stolpas had each suffered “very severe” damage to the front one-third of both their feet during an odyssey that began when their pickup became mired in snowdrifts Dec. 29.

“It’s hard to say what will happen, but this is one of the deepest burns I’ve seen,” Bonaldi said in an interview Friday. “It depends on how the tissue responds. It may heal or it may die, and that would require amputation.”

Bonaldi said it could be a week or longer before he knows which fate befalls the Stolpas, who were rescued Jan. 6. He said, however, that “they’ll probably lose something.”

Jennifer Stolpa suffered more damage, the doctor said, because she thawed her feet while huddling in a small cave with her baby for three days and three nights, and then refroze them.

“She wrapped them in a sleeping bag to warm them and melt the ice, but the pain was too much so she stuck them back in the snow,” Bonaldi said. Although that numbed her feet and eased the pain, it exacerbated her condition because injured tissue is more vulnerable to frostbite.

Both Stolpas were receiving pain medication as well as antibiotics to control fever. Their feet--red, blistered and swollen--were kept wrapped in dressings and were treated with ointments. Both Stolpas have some sensation in their toes.

Frostbite can occur after seven hours of exposure and is a particular threat to the body’s extremities. Bonaldi said the effect is much like that caused by a burn. Victims with mild cases usually recover fully, but severe injuries can cause gangrene, requiring amputation.

Despite the lingering medical uncertainty, the Stolpas were in sunny moods Friday, doctors said. They were buoyed in part by the knowledge that their 5-month-old son, Clayton, apparently survived unscathed.

“The Stolpas are still feeling very relieved, and their spirits are very good,” said Denise Yoxsimer, a spokeswoman at Washoe Medical Center. “All three of them are in a room together.”

The Stolpas arrived in Reno on Thursday night, one day after they were found in the desolate Nevada desert 150 miles north of here. They survived for eight days in subzero temperatures with little food, and were only rescued after James Stolpa--an Army private stationed at Camp Roberts in Paso Robles, Calif.--trudged 40 miles through deep snow to get help.

By Friday afternoon, the couple had received about 100 calls from well-wishers around the country. The hospital set up a special line with an answering machine to handle the messages and advise callers of the Stolpas’ wish that donations be sent to a Bay Area foundation for missing children.

There were also several bouquets of flowers and, inevitably, inquiries from Hollywood. The Stolpas and their relatives were deluged with phone calls and faxes from television and movie producers captivated by their ordeal--and eager to lock up rights to the gripping tale.

“This story really touched us,” said Neil Cohen of Once Upon a Time Films in Santa Monica. “The family’s struggle to survive is one of those classic themes that has always worked for me.”

Also heating up Friday was the war of the talk show hosts. Sally Jesse Raphael was interested, and Joan Rivers sent flowers.

“I think they’ve expressed such determination and such good family values,” Rivers told The Times through her New York publicist, Judy Katz. “I’m hoping to meet them someday.”

An additional element of drama emerged Friday, when Washoe County sheriff’s officials said the Stolpas had left a note in their truck before setting out in search of help. It was addressed “to our potential rescuers” and read:

“If we are already dead don’t mind the rest of this letter. But if we are nowhere to be found, we have started walking to (Nevada Highway) 140 as it seems the closest place to find help.”

The note was signed “Sincerely, the Stolpa family,” and closed with two P.S. messages. The second, written by Jennifer Stolpa, revealed the couple’s sense of urgency after four days of waiting in their truck.

“P.P.S. We are carrying with us a 5 mos. old baby. Help!!”