NFL news: Damar Hamlin’s family provides statement, update on his condition
Damar Hamlin has taken a giant step in his recovery after collapsing on the field during an NFL match. Medical experts say the improvement in his condition is ‘remarkable’.
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When Bills safety Damar Hamlin awoke from a medically induced sedation Wednesday night, he asked by writing on paper who won the Buffalo-Cincinnati game on “Monday Night Football,” according to Dr. Timothy Pritts, division chief of general surgery at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
“We are in a situation where we wanted to allow him to gradually wake up as the rest of his body was healing,” Pritts said during a press conference at UC Medical Center on Thursday. “Last night he was able to emerge and follow commands and even ask who had won the game.
“When he asked, ‘did we win?,’ the answer is, ‘yes, you know, Damar, you won. You’ve won the game of life,’ and that’s probably the important thing out of this, and we really need to keep him in the centre of everything else that’s going on, and we really want to ensure a good outcome for him.”
Pritts clarified that Hamlin is unable to speak, as the 24-year-old remains on a ventilator and in critical condition in the intensive care unit.
Damar Hamlin’s life was saved by CPR, AED, & great first responders. I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s extubated & talking by tomorrow ðŸ™ðŸ¿ pic.twitter.com/MbRR3KTFOq
— Bernard Ashby MD, MPP, FACC (@BAshbyMD) January 5, 2023
Josh Allen got choked up talking about being on the field when Damar Hamlin went down. pic.twitter.com/X1oOURjK9C
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 5, 2023
“He did not speak with us,” Pritts said. “He was able to communicate with us in writing. He is unable to speak with us as he still has a breathing tube in and we are assisting him in ventilation.”
Pritts specified that Hamlin is communicating with a pen, piece of paper and a clipboard.“ It’s not just the lights are on…he’s home,” Pritts said, later adding that all cylinders are firing in his brain.
Hamlin went into cardiac arrest Monday after tackling Bengals receiver Tee Higgins during the first quarter. He was resuscitated on the field and rushed to the hospital. The Bills announced Thursday morning Hamlin was “neurologically intact” and had made “remarkable improvement.”
“We’ve discussed with him what happened. He’s not quite at the point where we can have a conversation because of the breathing tube,” Pritts continued. “He is communicating with brief notes and shaking and nodding of the head. He expressed surprise that he hasn’t been with the world for two days and we talked to him about all the support that’s been showed for him.”
Dr. William Knight, the hospital’s director of emergency medicine, confirmed reports that Hamlin is holding people’s hands.
An emotional moment just now at #Bills presser regarding Damar Hamlin. Both Josh Allen and Sean McDermott break down in tears when discussing the thought of Hamlin’s mom telling him when he wakes up about millions of dollars raised for his foundation. #BillsMafia@Batavia_Dailypic.twitter.com/nT41kZAqNx
— alex brasky (@alexbrasky) January 5, 2023
“There’s been substantial improvement in his condition over the past 24 hours,” Pritts said. “We had significant concern about him after the injury and after the event that happened on the field, but he’s making substantial progress. As of this morning, he is beginning to awaken, and it appears that his neurological condition and function is intact.”
The doctors repeatedly said that Hamlin continued to be critically ill, and that the immediate goal is to get him to breathe on his own, without the assistance of a ventilator.
When asked what caused Hamlin to suffer cardiac arrest on the field, Pritts said, “That workup is ongoing. We do not have definitive answers. Tests will be ongoing as he continues to progress.”
The doctors also credited the quick response from the Bills’ medical staff, adding that it would be fair to say there could have been a different outcome to the situation if the medical personnel had waited a few extra minutes.
Doctors also said it is too soon to determine whether Hamlin will play football again.
“The best outcome would be getting him back to who he was before this all happened,” Pritts said.
This article was originally published in the New York Post and is reproduced with permission
STAR’S RECOVERY ‘REMARKABLE’ AS NFL CONSIDERS SCHEDULE CHANGES
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has shown “remarkable improvement” in the past 24 hours, three days after suffering cardiac arrest during an NFL game, the Bills said Thursday.
The team said Hamlin appears to “neurologically intact” as he continues to recover.
Dr. Pritts of UC says Damar Hamlin is making substantial progress and as of this morning he is beginning to awaken...adds they are very happy for him that he is making improvement although he is still critically ill #Bills
— Maddy Glab (@MadGlab) January 5, 2023
When Damar Hamlin asked who won via writing, the doctors responded with...
— Maddy Glab (@MadGlab) January 5, 2023
"You won. You've won the game of life." #Bills
The 24-year-old defensive back collapsed Monday night after taking a hard hit in the chest while tackling Bengals receiver Tee Higgins during the first quarter of a nationally televised game in Cincinnati.
Medical staff restored Hamlin’s heartbeat on the field and he was hospitalised in critical condition.
“Per the physicians caring for Damar Hamlin at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, Damar has shown remarkable improvement over the past 24 hours,” the Bills said in a statement.
“While still critically ill, he has demonstrated that he appears to be neurologically intact. His lungs continue to heal and he is making steady progress.” Hamlin’s frightening collapse on Monday night made for dramatic scenes before the national television audience.
Bills and Bengals players were clearly stunned, with some crying openly and praying as doctors treated Hamlin on the field. The game was eventually suspended.
Concern remained days later, with fans gathering outside the Bills’ home stadium to hold a prayer vigil for Hamlin.
On Wednesday, US President Joe Biden said he had spoken at length with Hamlin’s parents and told reporters when asked about the NFL that “ … it is dangerous. We’ve got to just acknowledge it.” NFL players returned to workouts on Wednesday ahead of the final weekend of regular-season games, with the New England Patriots set to visit the Bills on Sunday.
“We’re all handling it in different ways,” Bills offensive tackle Dion Dawkins said.
The Bills conducted team meetings and a walk-through practice session Wednesday but media sessions were cancelled.
NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said Wednesday that league officials have not spoken about the possibility of simply cancelling the Bills-Patriots game, but said Bills coach Sean McDermott and Buffalo players will guide such matters.
“We’ve not had that discussion,” Vincent said. “We’ll allow Sean, his team, his staff and the players – which are the most important thing here – to guide us if we have to make that decision.” The NFL says the Bills-Bengals game, a key matchup for deciding playoff seeding, will not be completed this week and might never be finished.
“Everything is being considered,” Vincent said.
‘PERFECT STORM’: WHAT CAUSED NFL STAR’S CARDIAC ARREST?
The on-field cardiac arrest suffered by Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin may have been the result of a “perfect storm” of events in which a blow to the chest was combined with a split-second moment of vulnerability during a heartbeat, experts said on Wednesday.
Sumeet Chugh, medical director of the Heart Rhythm Center at the Smidt Heart Institute at Cedars-Sinai in California, said this was one of a number of potential explanations for Hamlin’s medical crisis.
The 24-year-old Hamlin collapsed on the field after making a tackle during the Monday Night Football game between the Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals.
Hamlin was immediately given CPR, taken away in an ambulance and remains hospitalised in critical condition.
Chugh, in an interview with AFP, stressed that in the absence of more information from Hamlin’s doctors any explanation is in the realm of “pure speculation.” But he said that because of the “obvious circumstantial evidence of the tackle” the cause of Hamlin’s cardiac arrest may have been what is known as commotio cordis.
“It’s a pretty rare event because it requires the perfect storm where some kind of blunt object has to strike the chest right above the heart in a tiny window of 30 milliseconds” – a fraction of the time of one heartbeat, he said.
This throws the heart into “electrical chaos,” Chugh said, and instead of beating at its normal 60 to 80 times a minute, it stops and goes into what is known as ventricular fibrillation.
Eugene Chung, a professor of cardiology at the University of Michigan, also said commotio cordis was a possibility in Hamlin’s case, although “we do not have enough information to definitively say this is the cause.”
– 20 to 25 cases a year in US –
Chugh said the injury is most commonly caused by a speeding hockey puck, a baseball or a lacrosse ball but can also be caused by a strike from a fist or an elbow.
“It’s so rare my best guess is there are 20 to 25 cases in the entire United States in a whole year,” he said.
The most prominent case involved a National Hockey League player, St. Louis Blues defenseman Chris Pronger, who was hit in the chest by a slap shot during a Stanley Cup playoff game in 1998 and went into cardiac arrest.
Pronger recovered and went on to play in the NHL until 2012, earning induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Chugh said there may be other potential causes for Hamlin’s cardiac arrest, such as a heart defect or a genetic condition.
“Most of the time when you have a cardiac arrest on the field it’s because the athlete has a heart condition,” he said.
Heart conditions, though, “can be screened for relatively effectively,” he said. The Bills said Wednesday that Hamlin “remains in the ICU in critical condition with signs of improvement noted yesterday and overnight.” “He is expected to remain under intensive care as his health care team continues to monitor and treat him,”
Family breaks silence on critical NFL star after collapse
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who suffered a cardiac arrest during an NFL game, remained hospitalised in critical condition on Tuesday while the league said the suspended contest would not resume this week.
The 24-year-old defensive back collapsed Monday night after receiving a hard hit in the chest while tackling receiver Tee Higgins during the first quarter of the Bills’ game at Cincinnati.
Medical workers restored Hamlin’s heartbeat on the field while working for 30 minutes as players from both teams wept and worried, the horrific scene watched by a national television audience and a stadium crowd stunned into silence.
Hamlin was taken from the stadium in an ambulance and the pivotal contest between playoff-bound NFL clubs, led 7-3 by Cincinnati, was halted by agreement of the NFL and NFL Players Association (NFLPA).
“Damar Hamlin spent last night in the intensive care unit and remains there today in critical condition at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center,” the Bills said in a statement.
“We are grateful and thankful for the outpouring of support we have received thus far.” The NFLPA tweeted out mental health and counselling information in a message to all players in America’s most violent and most popular sport.
“Our union’s focus remains on the health of our brother, Damar Hamlin,” the NFLPA said in a statement. “We continue to be in touch with the clubs and NFL to ensure that Bills and Bengals players have every resource available to aid and support them during this time.” The NFL announced the Bills-Bengals game would not be completed this week, with no guarantee it would be finished, and said next weekend’s final regular-season games remain as scheduled.
“After speaking with both teams and NFLPA leadership, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell informed the clubs today that the Bills-Bengals game will not be resumed this week,” an NFL statement said.
“The NFL has made no decision regarding the possible resumption of the game at a later date. The league has not made any changes to the week 18 regular-season schedule.” That means the NFL expects the Bills (12-3) to play host to New England (8-8) on Sunday in a game with playoff qualifying and seeding implications.
NFL players and fans expressed hope for Hamlin to return to full health, including Higgins, who tweeted, “I’m praying that you pull through bro.” Those cheering for Hamlin include US President Joe Biden.
“The President has seen the horrific news. We hope his condition and his health improves quickly,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said.
“I was shook up,” 39-year-old Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers said on the Pat McAfee Show. “Your football mortality comes right face-to-face. One of your brothers in the fraternity of the NFL is fighting for his life right now.
“Whether you are currently playing or done playing, you’re shook about this because you just never thought you would see something like this on the field.” Seven-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, the 45-year-old quarterback who ended a brief retirement to play this season, tweeted: “Moments like this put into perspective what it means to play this game we love.” A GoFundMe page that supports Hamlin’s foundation, which backs children’s charity programs, had more than $4 million in contributions after a huge jump in donations following his injury.
“We want to express our sincere gratitude for the love and support shown to Damar during this challenging time,” Hamlin’s family said in a statement.
“We are deeply moved by the prayers, kind words and donations from fans around the country … Your generosity and compassion mean the world to us.”
The only similar situation on the field in an NFL game took place in 1971 when Detroit Lions receiver Chuck Hughes suffered a cardiac incident against Chicago and was pronounced dead shortly after being taken to a hospital.
Hughes collapsed while returning to a huddle after a play he wasn’t directly involved with during the final seconds of the game, which was finished.
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