Source: Don Juan Moore / Getty
The Buffalo Bills issued a statement on the condition of Damar Hamlin, citing doctors who state that he’s improving remarkably since suffering cardiac arrest during a game Monday night (Jan. 3).
Days after suffering cardiac arrest on the field during the Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals on ESPN, Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is beginning to awaken in his recovery. Doctors at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center also announced that Hamlin was beginning to move his hands and feet.
Dr. Timothy Pritts And Dr. William Knight IV Have Been Caring For Hamlin
Dr. Timothy Pritts addressed the media along with his colleague, Dr. William Knight IV Thursday (Jan. 5). They confirmed that Hamlin was unable to speak, but was able to communicate by writing. Dr. Pritts said that Hamlin wrote a note asking who won the game on Monday night. “The answer is yes, Damar, you won. You won the game of life,” Pritts stated. He continued by saying that the 24-year-old, who was sedated and intubated upon his arrival at the hospital, had also shown some more positive signs by moving his head although they were unable to analyze his speech due to the breathing tube.
Dr. Knight credited the swift response of medical personnel on the field after Hamlin’s cardiac arrest as a factor in his neurological improvement, saying that a physician was by his side within a minute of his collapse. “When we talk about neurologically intact, it’s a very gross term of big motor movements and following commands,” Knight said. Dr. Pritts continued: “So, we know that it’s not only that the lights are on, we know that he’s home. And that it appears all cylinders are firing within his brain.”
Dr. Pritts did state that Hamlin is still considered critically ill even with the marked improvements, cautioning that there are many phases to his recovery ahead of him. Their aim is to get him home and observe how he recovers. The medical team didn’t offer any more insight into what caused Hamlin to suffer cardiac arrest during the game. Dr. Knight also stated that it was too early to estimate whether Hamlin could return to football after a process of rehabilitation.
That improvement continued Friday morning as the Bills issued another statement through social media saying that Damar Hamlin’s breathing tube was removed successfully overnight.