We’ve all had our eyes on Bills safety Damar Hamlin over the past few days, after he suffered cardiac arrest on the field Monday night.
It was a terrifying situation all around, as he had to be resuscitated on the field in front of both teams, the fans in the stands, and everybody who was watching on TV.
He was rushed to the University of Cincinnati Hospital, where his uncle confirmed he had to be resuscitated again in critical care.
However, we’ve since heard some great news, as we now know that he’s neurologically intact:
“Amazing news: Buffalo Bills announce Damar Hamlin is neurologically intact. He is showing extremely positive signs toward recovery from critical condition due to cardiac arrest.”
And on top of that, we have now learned that Hamlin is able to communicate by writing things down.
According to NFL Network analyst Mike Garafolo, Hamlin asked the doctors:
“Did we win?”
And the doctors responded:
“Yes, you won the game of life.”
He also shared in a number of follow up tweets:
“He’s communicating via writing because he still has the tube in. But he’s as responsive and aware as we could all hope. Incredible.”
“Next steps: Getting him breathing on his own, continue to improve and then get him home. Lots of work to be done but they’re talking about sending Damar Hamlin home. This is amazing.”
“Dr. Timothy Pritts says Hamlin asking who won the game was a terrific sign: ‘It’s not only that the lights are on. We know he’s home.'”
“Asked about a return to football at some point, Dr. William Knight says ‘it truly is too early to have that conversation.’ They’re focused on getting him extubated and ‘on the road to recovery.'”
“Dr. Knight says commotio cordis is ‘on the list of considerations’ for the cause of Damar Hamlin’s cardiac arrest but noted it’s ‘extremely rare’ and there’s still further investigation on other potential causes before they can conclude the cause.”
“Hamlin initially had a pulse but lost it while being attended to on the field. He received CPR within minutes and his heartbeat was restored. Drs. Knight and Pritts have lauded the work from the medical and athletic training staffs, as well as first responders for their work.”
“Dr. Pritts says for Hamlin to be upgraded to stable condition, he’ll have to have the breathing tube taken out while his neurological function continues to improve. For now, he remains in critical condition but he’s improving.”
“That was an informative, uplifting press conference from UC Health. The work done by the staff there, as well as the medical and athletic training staffs and first responders at the stadium, was incredible. To those who perform such work everywhere, you’re heroes. Thank you.”
Certified football guy.
