After being cleared for football activity by the Bills, Damar Hamlin announced his return to the game.
This news comes after the 25-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest during a game on January 2nd, which left him in critical condition for several days.
What a comeback story for the ages!
Damar Hamlin is making his official return to the field today, almost 9 months after suffering cardiac arrest on January 2…#BillsMafia @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/nr330AVXB2
— StaceyDales (@StaceyDales) October 1, 2023
Despite the challenges he faced, Hamlin believes that returning to football will have a positive impact on his mental health, and doctors agree.
“I’ve been beating statistics my whole life, so I like my chances here,” he said of returning to play football.
During the game, Hamlin collapsed after a collision with Cincinnati Bengals’ wide receiver Tee Higgins. CPR was administered on the field, and he was then rushed to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center where he remained in critical condition.
After spending nearly a week in the hospital, Hamlin was flown to Buffalo for further treatment and was released on January 11th.
It was later revealed that he suffered from commotio cordis, a rare form of cardiac arrest caused by a blow to the chest at precisely the wrong time during the heartbeat, according to the American Heart Association.
In light of his experience, Hamlin is using his foundation to raise awareness about CPR training and the importance of providing youth sports with automated external defibrillators (AEDs), which can save lives.
The NFL, in collaboration with other major sports leagues, has also recently launched a campaign aimed at preventing fatal cardiac arrests among high school students.
Thank you for being on this journey with me.. 💕
— 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐚𝐫 𝐇𝐚𝐦𝐥𝐢𝐧 (@HamlinIsland) April 18, 2023
When speaking to reporters, Hamlin expressed that his NFL comeback is not just about himself but also about motivating others to overcome their own challenges.
He is grateful for every day since the injury and believes that he still has much to offer.
“Not to sound cliché, but the wild moment is every day just being able to wake up and take deep breaths and live a peaceful life,” he said.
“To have a family, to have people around me that love me and care about me, and for those people to still have me in their lives. You know they almost lost me. I died on national TV in front of the whole world. So, I see it from all perspectives.”
“For them to still have me around, and for me to still have them, it goes both ways. And I lost a bunch of people in my life, and I know a bunch of people who have lost people in their lives, and I know that feeling. So that right there is just the biggest blessing of it all. For me to still have my people, and for my people to still have me.”
