Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin released from hospital 7 days after collapse

CNN –

Damar Hamlin was released from the hospital Monday, a week after Buffalo Bills safety’s heart stopped and he had to be resuscitated on the field during an NFL game, Dr. William A. Knight on Monday during a video press conference.

Knight said he went with Hamlin to the airport, where he caught a flight to Buffalo. Hamlin is in a hospital there, said the doctor at UC Medical Center in Cincinnati.

“He’s doing well and this is the start of the next phase of his recovery,” Knight said. “It is completely premature to discuss, not only his football; is that we’re really focused on his day-to-day recovery.”

On Jan. 2, Hamlin, a 24-year-old in his second NFL season, suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The NFL star posted a photo of himself on social media on Sunday showing him sitting in his hospital bed and making a heart sign with his hands while wearing a No. 3 hat and a “Love for vein”.

Hamlin tweeted more than a dozen times reacting to the Bills’ 35-22 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday and expressed his desire to get on the field with his teammates.

“It’s Game Day and there’s nothing I want more than to finish that tunnel with my brothers,” he wrote.

Hamlin also watched from his hospital bed Sunday as teams across the NFL honored him during the final games of the regular season, with players, coaches and fans showing their support with T-shirts, signs and jerseys that displayed his name and the number 3.

At the Bills’ Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, some of Hamlin’s teammates took the field waving flags with his name and jersey number, while many in the audience held up heart-shaped signs to honor the player.

A day earlier, the Bills tweeted that Hamlin continues to breathe on his own and his neurological function is excellent, but he was still in critical condition, citing his doctors.

Hamlin went down after making a tackle during the first quarter of the Bills’ game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night. He was taken off the field in an ambulance, leaving players crying and hugging, and unleashing an outpouring of support from fans and others across the country.

The game was first postponed, then canceled by the NFL.

Before Sunday’s game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Bengals, the medical staff who rushed to Hamlin’s aid were honored at Cincinnati’s Paycor Stadium — the same field where Hamlin went into cardiac arrest.

At New York’s Highmark Stadium, Buffalo Bills wide receiver John Brown delivered a game ball to assistant athletic trainer Denny Kellington, the man credited with saving Hamlin’s life by administering critical CPR to the football player — who doctors say lost a pulse in the field had to be revived immediately through CPR and defibrillation.

The immediate response of Kellington and other medical personnel was vital to “not only saving his life, but his neurological function,” said Dr. Timothy Pritts, one of Hamlin’s doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.

Hamlin was relieved after being taken to the hospital. Doctors announced Thursday that he has begun to wake up and appears neurologically intact, while still critically ill and on a ventilator.

“Did we win?” was Hamlin’s first question after waking up, according to Pritts, who said he scribbled the question on a chalkboard.

On Friday, the Bills said Hamlin’s breathing tube was removed overnight and he had been talking to his teammates via video.

After Sunday’s win over the Patriots, Bills cornerback Tre’Davious White said Hamlin texted teammates before Sunday’s game, saying, “I’m thinking about all of you, I’m sorry for what I did to you this”. everything.”

“For him to check us out when he’s the person going through what he’s going through — it just shows what kind of person he is.”

White said the incident of Monday’s incident still haunts the six-year NFL veteran.

“To see everything happen, from the hit, to his rise, to his fall, to everything – it’s just something that I can’t … I don’t see. Every time I close my eyes it repeats. “I tried to watch TV, and every time the TV goes to commercial, that’s the only thing that comes to my mind,” White said.

During Sunday’s Bills game, the public address announcer read a statement of support for Hamlin and received a roar from the crowd, which included fans in a sea of ​​blue and red who held signs of support for Hamlin that said “BILLI3VE,” All hearts for #3, “Love for Damar,” “Did we win,” and “Thanks Medical Staff!”

Several of Hamlin’s teammates, including Josh Allen and Kaiir Elam, came onto the field waving flags with Hamlin’s name and jersey No. 3.

Then the game started with a bang.

Bills returner Nyhiem Hines took the opening kickoff for a 96-yard touchdown, sending the crowd into euphoria and prompting Hamlin to tweet, “OMFG!!!!!!!!!!!”

Hines said the team needed this win after last week’s events.

“As a community, I feel like we needed this win. I feel like my brothers in that locker room, we needed a lot of energy and some great emotions. And we had to win this one,” Hines said.

Other teams around the league also paid tribute to Hamlin on Sunday.

In Cincinnati, Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, who was involved in the game where Hamlin was injured, wore a “Love for Damar” T-shirt during pregame warmups.

Before the start of the game, the stadium announcer read a statement asking fans to take a moment of support for Hamlin, his family and first responders.

Fans in Cincinnati, many with signs supporting Hamlin, cheered loudly. The telecast also showed Bengals coach Zac Taylor wearing a “Love for Damar” hoodie during the tribute.

Before the Chargers-Broncos game, Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson and Chargers safety Derwin James met at midfield, both wearing No. 3 and led a moment of support for Hamlin.