Bills’ Damar Hamlin attends 1st game since cardiac arrest, waves to fans

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin made his first public appearance since suffering a heart attack after making a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals three weeks ago, waving to fans from a stadium suite on Sunday as the teams met again for an AFC divisional playoff game, the Bills went. lost 27-10.

The crowd at Highmark Stadium erupted as images of a recovering Hamlin filled the big screen in the end zone late in the first half. Fans turned to the glass-enclosed suite and cheered.

Hamlin, wearing a hooded jacket, stood in front of the window and raised his arms as if to greet the crowd and encourage them to stand as the Bengals faced their 5th goal.

He ended by making a heart sign with his hand, his signature.

Earlier on Sunday, the Bills posted a video to Instagram and Twitter showing Hamlin coming into the team’s locker room and saying “Welcome, Damar.” The video shows Hamlin arriving in a golf cart about an hour before kickoff, wearing sunglasses and a face mask, the hood of his jacket pulled up. He was accompanied by his 7-year-old brother, Damir, and his mother, Nina.

Bills quarterback Josh Allen described his presence as “a warm feeling.

“Obviously, we wanted to play for them … We just ran into a team that played better than us tonight,” Allen said after the loss.

Hamlin was not seen before the game took place in snowy conditions. Bills has made no announcement about his whereabouts, but news of his arrival has spread as soon as he appears on screen.

“It’s amazing, it really is. I think everyone is so excited,” fan Brin Jobson of Buffalo said at halftime. “We heard he might be here, so it’s great to see him.”

Hamlin, 24, has not been seen in public since the Bills and Bengals last met on Jan. 2 in a game that came to an abrupt halt and was eventually canceled after Hamlin collapsed on the field in the first quarter.

Bills coach Sean McDermott said Hamlin began making regular visits to the team facility shortly after his release from the hospital in what he described as “dipping his thumb back here and getting on the road to just get back to himself.”

‘good times’

It was “just a good moment” when Hamlin appeared on the screen during the game, McDermott said afterwards, especially considering that just last week, medical personnel used CPR and an automatic external defibrillator to restart the heart.

For a few minutes, the television audience listening to Monday night’s game instead absorbed the fear and sadness on the faces of the players, some of whom were in tears.

A spokesman for Hamlin’s family said this week that he is still undergoing a long rehabilitation. “Damar still needs oxygen and is monitoring his heart regularly to make sure there are no setbacks or consequences,” Jordon Rooney told The Associated Press.

The Bills have not released the results of tests Hamlin underwent to determine why his heart stopped after being hit in the chest while making what appeared to be a routine practice.

Hamlin, who hails from the Pittsburgh area, live-tweeted while watching Buffalo’s 35-23 season-ending win over New England from his hospital bed at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center on January 8. Last weekend, he live-tweeted from home while watching The Bills’ 34-31 win over Miami in the wild card playoffs.

“We’ll be back,” Hamlin tweeted hours after the Bills’ season-ending loss to the Bengals. “Don’t trip.”