Beyond just football fans, most of the country was shook to the core on Monday night.
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin made what appeared to be a pretty routine tackle on Cincinnati Bengals WR Tee Higgins, the whistle blew, the play was blown dead, and Damar got to his feet.
And in less than a second his entire life would forever be changed.
In what would amount to the scariest football incident of my entire life, he collapsed down to field… his heart ceasing to beat.
Medical personnel rushed on to the field to treat Damar, immediately calling for a defibrillator and oxygen as they tried to bring this young man back to life. Bills trainer Denny Kellington administered CPR, and after nearly 10 minutes, they were able to restart his heart, give him oxygen and get him loaded into an ambulance.
When he arrived at the hospital, his heart stopped again.
For a second time, medical professionals were able to restart his heart, and he was sedated, intubated, and placed on a ventilator, unable to breathe on his own.
And while we still don’t know what may have caused this tragic series of events, what we do know is that for a moment, the entire country came together.
Bengals fans, Bills fans, football fans, people that hate sports, men, women, black, white, Democrats, Republicans… folks across the country came together to pray for Damar, and send their positive wishes.
And many not only opened up their hearts, but opened up their wallets as well, collectively donating over $8 million dollars to Damar’s charity.
And those prayers were answered:
Damar’s prognosis is good… he’s awake, talking, breathing on his own, and seems to have suffered no neurological damage as a result of the cardiac arrest.
He remains in the ICU, and still has a long road to recovery, but has finally released his own inspiring statement on the matter:
“When you put real love out into the world it comes back to you 3x’s as much. The love has been overwhelming, but I’m thankful for every single person that prayed for me and reached out.
We brung the world back together behind this. If you know me you know this only gone make me stronger. On a long road keep praying for me!”
Keep those prayers coming folks!
