By: Gaby Maldonado
During a televised game, Damar Hamlin from the Buffalo Bills suffered a dangerous
injury. On Jan. 2, Buffalo Bills defense player Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field after making a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals. Having suffered cardiac arrest, the 24-year-old NFL star was given CPR by medical personnel for nearly 10 minutes while the stadium watched with concern.
Following the incident, Hamlin was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center where he remained in critical condition for three days. He was then transferred to the Buffalo General Medical Center to continue his recovery.
As soon as Hamlin awoke from his critical state, he had one question to ask: who won the Monday night game. Doctors answered “Yes, Damar, you won. You won the game of life.”
After a thorough medical evaluation and several medical tests, he was released from the hospital on Wednesday, Jan. 11.
“We have completed a series of tests and evaluations, and in consultation with the team physicians, we are confident that Damar can be safely discharged to continue his rehabilitation at home and with the Bills,” explained his critical care physician, Jamie Nadler, who is also Chief Quality Officer at the Buffalo Medical Center.
It usually takes several weeks or months for a patient to recover from an event like what Hamlin experienced. Even though Hamlin has made more progress in his recovery than what is usually expected by patients, doctors say it is still too soon to discuss when he might be able to resume playing football.
Damar Hamlin’s journey to recovery has allowed people from around the world to come together and show support for the strong football player. For example, people have donated over $8 million dollars to his foundation “The Chasing M’s Community Toy Drive.”
There has been a high display of sportsmanship, community, and encouragement for Hamlin in the past few weeks. American sports commentator, Tony Romo stated, “What started as a tragedy, has slowly turned into a celebration of life.”