After more than three months of recovery following a heart attack on Jan. 2 during a game, Bills safety Damar Hamlin declared on Tuesday that he would rejoin the NFL for the 2017 season.
Image Credit: AP Photos
The exact diagnosis that physicians gave Hamlin was commotio cordis, which is when something striking an athlete’s chest squarely above the heart can trigger cardiac arrest and ventricular fibrillation. Hamlin explained this in detail during his speech to the media on Tuesday.
According to Hamlin, commotio cordis is the main reason why young sportsmen die in all sports. “That’s something that I personally will be taking a step in to make a change,” Hamlin said. “Also, with that being said, all the awareness around CPR and the access to AEDs have been lowering that number as well.”
“This is not the end of my story. I plan to make a comeback to the NFL.” ? pic.twitter.com/jlAMdErKWk
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) April 18, 2023
Both Hamlin and Bills general manager Brandon Beane stated on Tuesday that the athlete had received medical clearance for the 2023 season.
Damar Hamlin Suffered a Cardiac Arrest
Image Credit: AP Photos
On January 2, the game against the Bengals was called off after the safety collapsed. On the field and in the ambulance on the route to the University of Cincinnati Medical Centre, trainers performed CPR on Hamlin. Nine days after the tragedy, he eventually left the hospital after regaining consciousness two days later.
Following the tragic event, the NFL and the rest of North America exploded in sympathy, and more than $9 million was donated to Hamlin’s humanitarian organization. Before being discharged, the second-year player from McKee’s Rock, a Pittsburgh suburb, spent nearly ten days recuperating in hospitals in Cincinnati and Buffalo.
Later on, he started going to the Bills’ facilities and even went to the team’s final game of the season, a 27-10 defeat to Cincinnati in the divisional round of the playoffs. Since then, Hamlin has made a lot of public appearances across the nation, including an encounter with President Joe Biden last month.
Damar Hamlin Named 2023 NFLPA Alan Page Community Award Winner
Image Credit: Twitter: @NFLPA
Damar was given the NFLPA’s Alan Page Community Award in February, at the Super Bowl festivities in Arizona. He also participated in a pre-game ceremony where the NFL saluted the training and medical staff of the Bengals and Bills as well as the first responders who helped the 24-year-old.
Published by HOLR Magazine.