Monday night’s Buffalo Bills-Cincinnati Bengals matchup is one of the most anticipated NFL games of the season.
But halfway through the first half, the football immediately became irrelevant, as the events on the field turned tragic.
Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed and lost consciousness after a routine tackle on Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins.
As the horrified crowd looked on, medical staff performed CPR within nine minutes, and an ambulance arrived on the field to rush Hamlin to a nearby hospital.
For most of this week, the situation looked bleak.
Reports from the hospital indicated that Hamlin was no longer conscious and breathing with the help of an artificial respirator.
So it’s with great excitement that the Bills announced some amazing news today:
Not only had Hamlin regained consciousness, he was communicating in a way that indicated his neurological function had recovered to a degree that exceeded even the most optimistic doctors’ predictions.
“It’s not just the lights that are turned on. We knew he was home. It looks like all cylinders are firing in the brain,” said Dr. Timothy Pritts at a press conference Thursday afternoon.
“The Bills training staff that was with him knew immediately that this was not a factory injury and that they had an important event on their hands and immediately responded and got the emergency response team involved in treatment,” Pritts said.
Pritts later confirmed that this was the best possible outcome, given the circumstances.
“And really, it’s also something like this that can be done in a very difficult situation, and they did a really good job, that’s why we’re here today,” he told the press.
The medical staff responsible for Hamlin’s recovery also revealed that the 24-year-old immediately wrote a message – he still cannot communicate verbally because of a respirator – asking who won Monday night’s match.
“You win. You have won the game of life,” replied one of the doctors
Now, you could argue that the doctors are being a bit funny there, giving trick answers to guys who are just in a coma.
But after the work these men and women have done to restore Hamlin to health, we’ll forgive our attempts at humor/philosophical/whatever you want.
(In reality, the game was suspended, and the team did not win or lose. The NFL has not announced how it will approach the issue of league standings and playoff seeding.)
No doubt the road to full recovery will be a long and difficult one for Damar.
But Hamlin has made remarkable progress, and his loved ones, friends, and fans have reason to be optimistic.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Damar as he begins this journey.