By Lucy Ottley 

During a Monday Night Football game on January 2, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest, causing the game between the Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals to stop abruptly. During the game, Hamlin tackled Tee Higgins, a wide receiver for the Bengals, which caused Damlin’s heart to stop. Medics rushed onto the field and immediately started CPR. They were able to revive him on the field, but he was rushed to the hospital right after. At the time, doctors were unaware of what the future would bring for Hamlin, but they were hopeful he would eventually be able to breathe on his own. 

Hamlin was born on March 24, 1998, in McKees, Pennsylvania, and grew up with one younger brother, Damir, his father, Mario, and his mother, Nina. When Hamlin was three years old, his father was arrested for selling drugs and imprisoned for three and a half years, but he eventually returned to his family. Hamlin attended Central Catholic High School and later continued his academic and athletic career at the University of Pittsburgh. After studying and playing football at Pittsburgh, he was drafted in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft to the Buffalo Bills.

The Buffalo Bills surrounding the 3 on the field supporting Hamlin. Photo credit: The Sporting News. 

After the hit that caused Hamlin to enter cardiac arrest, he was transferred to the hospital and put on a ventilator. Once he was in the hospital, doctors reported that his brain activity continued to show positive signs, and he would most likely not suffer brain damage. The ventilator eased pressure on his lungs, and the doctors turned him onto his stomach. While he was on the ventilator and flipped over, the doctors began to see positive improvements. Expert doctors continued to examine the hit, and the reporter of the article said “that a blow to the chest in the exact right place can launch an otherwise healthy person into cardiac arrest. The heart’s electrical system malfunctions and the heartbeat rhythm goes haywire.” The doctors concluded that Hamlin suffered a rare phenomenon called “commotio cordis.” 

After Hamlin collapsed, the NFL was hesitant to stop the game, and NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell wanted to continue to play even after Hamlin went into cardiac arrest. However, now members of the NFL central office claim that those claims were false, even though they gave the players a five-minute warm-up after the accident. Despite this pressure from the NFL to continue to play, the players and coaches from both the Bills and the Bengals decided that it would be extremely difficult for them to continue playing after seeing a player go into cardiac arrest. 

About an hour after the collapse, ESPN announced that the game would be postponed. Buffalo Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins expressed his feelings about how sometimes he feels people only see them as professional football players and not real people who have emotions. There were many prayers and tweets that Dawkins said made him feel like he was “being treated as a person that is cared for, it’s a beautiful feeling,” and he continues to voice his gratitude. 

T-shirts with Hamlin’s quote when he woke up Photo credit: user HamlinIsland via Hamlin’s Twitter.

On Thursday, January 5, Hamlin woke up. His first words were, “Did we win the game?” and the doctors responded with, “You won. You’ve won the game of life.” The Bills showed their support by wearing warm-up t-shirts during their next game that said “love for Damar 3.” Everyone on the team tweeted and continued to pray for him and his family during these challenging times. 

The Buffalo Bills returned to the field on Sunday, January 8 to take on the New England Patriots. Nyheim Hines returned the opening kick-off 101 yards to score a touchdown. Hamlin was in his hospital room watching the game and tweeted, “OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Hamlin continued to tweet throughout the game, cheering on his teammates. After the game, Bills quarterback Josh Allen tweeted to show his support for Hamlin, writing “God is good. He really is. I just urge everybody to keep praying for [Hamlin]. I just hope he can feel the love and the emotion that everybody here in this stadium had for him. One of the more surreal stadium feelings I’ve ever been in. It was special.” 

Damar Hamlin in the hospital supporting his team. Photo credit: user HamlinIsland via Hamlin’s Twitter.

Hamlin was released from the hospital on Thursday, January 9, and returned home to Cincinnati and continued his therapy there. Before returning home, the hospital ran multiple tests to ensure it was safe to transfer him. During treatment, the doctors will continue to run tests to determine what caused his cardiac arrest. The doctors say that Hamlin has been ahead of each stage from what they have seen in similar cardiac arrest patients. It is too early to tell that Hamlin will play professional football again, but Hamlin always has ways of surprising people. 

Featured image credit: user: AndreCarrotflower via Wikivoyage.