The family of Damar Hamlin on Tuesday thanked the public for its support and asked for continued prayers for the Buffalo Bills safety, who remains hospitalized in critical condition after going into cardiac arrest on the field in Cincinnati on Monday night.
via: People
“His heart had went out so they had to resuscitate him twice,” his uncle Dorrian Glenn told CNN Tuesday night. “They resuscitated him on the field before they brought him to the hospital and then they resuscitated him a second time when they got him to the hospital.”
Glenn also shared that Hamlin, 24, is still sedated.
“They sedated him just to give a better chance for him to just continue to heal better. We are just taking it day by day. It seems like he’s trending upwards in a positive way,” Glenn explained.
He also told CNN that they’re keeping his nephew “flipped over on his stomach” to help with blood in his lungs. Glenn added that the next step is to get Hamlin breathing on his own.
Glenn said he was watching the game with Hamlin’s younger brother in Pittsburgh when the incident happened.
“I’m not a crier, but I’ve never cried so hard in my life. Just to know, like, my nephew basically died on the field and they brought him back to life,” he added. “It’s just heartbreaking. It was a gut punch.”
“I’m just glad he’s alive and able to fight and trying to get better and recover,” Glenn said.
Hamlin suffered his injury early in the first quarter when he tackled Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins and quickly stood up, before suddenly collapsing. Medical personnel administered CPR to Hamlin and appeared to give him oxygen before the ambulance took him away. ESPN reported that Hamlin’s parents were brought down from the stands to leave with him for the journey to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
“Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest following a hit in our game versus the Bengals,” a team spokesperson wrote via Twitter early Tuesday morning after Hamlin was taken off the field in an ambulance. Prior to this he received CPR for 10 minutes and appeared to be given oxygen. The NFL also suspended the game.
“His heartbeat was restored on the field and he was transferred to the UC Medical Center for further testing and treatment,” added the team statement. “He is currently sedated and listed in critical condition.”
The NFL also announced Tuesday that the postponed game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Buffalo Bills will not be rescheduled for this week after Damar Hamlin’s collapse.
The league said in a statement shared on its website that it “continues to be in regular contact with the medical team caring for Damar Hamlin, and also the Bills and Bengals organizations and the NFL Players Association.”
The statement continued: “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.”
The NFL said it has not decided whether the game will be played “at a later date,” noting, “The league has not made any changes to the Week 18 regular season schedule.”
