Damar Hamlin resumes NFL activities after heart-stopping incident
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Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin attends an event on March 28 with lawmakers to introduce the Access to AEDs Act, in Washington.
PHOTO: AFP
NEW YORK – Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin, who went into cardiac arrest after making a tackle and was resuscitated on the field, rejoined the team for a workout on Tuesday as he began his National Football League (NFL) comeback.
“This event was life-changing but it’s not the end of my story,” he said.
“I plan on making a comeback to the NFL. I’ve been beating the statistics my whole life, so I like my chances.”
Bills general manager Brandon Beane said Hamlin had been medically cleared to resume NFL activities despite his near-death experience in January.
During the first quarter of that nationally televised NFL game at Cincinnati, Hamlin tackled Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins after a 13-yard reception.
He rose to his feet, then collapsed backwards onto the ground.
The Bills said his heartbeat was restored on the field by medical technicians before he was transported to hospital.
“I died on national TV in front of the whole world, so I see it from all perspectives,” Hamlin added.
“That right there is the biggest blessing of it all – for me to still have my people and my people to still have me.”
Hamlin also revealed that his diagnosis was commotio cordis (Latin for “agitation of the heart”), or a blow to the chest during a heartbeat that led to a cardiac shutdown. Since then, he has seen multiple specialists who all agree he is ready to return to NFL activities.
“Damar saw his last specialist on Friday,” Beane said.
“It’s not 2-to-1 or 3-to-1 or anything like that. They’re all in lockstep that he is cleared (to) resume full activities, just like anyone else coming back from an injury.”
Hamlin, who turned 25 in March, was able to breathe on his own four days after the injury and made a video call to his teammates.
Watching NFL games in a hospital bed days after the incident was when he decided he would attempt to strap on a helmet and pads once more.
“That’s where I was like, ‘I don’t want to be done yet’,” he said.
“My heart is still in the game. It’s something I want to prove to myself, not nobody else. I just want to show people that fear is a choice and you can keep going.
“It was an anxious feeling (returning to training) at first but it was a great feeling to see my teammates again. I’m taking it one day at a time. Physically, I’m building this up from zero to 100.”
AFP, REUTERS
