Buffalo Bills’ Damar Hamlin released from hospital
ByTheresa Seiger, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Damar Hamlin Safety Damar Hamlin #31 of the Buffalo Bills leaves the field after warm-ups before the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field on Nov. 7, 2021 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Don Juan Moore/Getty Images, File)
(Don Juan Moore/Getty Images, File)
ByTheresa Seiger, Cox Media Group National Content Desk
Doctors on Monday announced that Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has been released from the University of Cincinnati Medical Center one week after he collapsed on the field during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
Hamlin suffered a cardiac arrest during the first quarter of the Bills-Bengals match at Paycor Stadium last Monday. He had to be resuscitated on the field before he was taken to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in critical condition.
“Our ultimate goal was to get Damar back home to his amazing family and the broader Buffalo family,” Dr. William Knight said Monday.
“Well, Dr. (Timothy) Pritts and I are thrilled and proud on behalf of UC to report to you that Damar Hamlin has been released and returned to Buffalo.”
Knight said Hamlin was in another hospital in Buffalo on Monday, where medical staff would monitor him to ensure that his flight had no impact on his condition or lung function.
Hamlin thanked the care team at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center in a social media post. He added that “the docs and nurses at Buffalo General have already made me feel at home!”
Grateful for the awesome care I received at UCMC. Happy to be back in Buffalo. The docs and nurses at Buffalo General have already made me feel at home! 🏩🫶🏾.
“Watching the world come together around me on Sunday was truly an amazing feeling. The same love you all have shown me is the same love that I plan to put back into the world n more,” he wrote. “Bigger than football!”
Headed home to Buffalo today with a lot of love on my heart. 🫶🏾
Watching the world come together around me on Sunday was truly an amazing feeling.
The same love you all have shown me is the same love that I plan to put back into the world n more.
Knight said Monday that Hamlin “is doing well and this is the beginning of the next stage of his recovery.”
The 24-year-old has “met a number of key milestones on his journey to recovery,” including getting up and walking the intensive care unit, doing physical and occupational therapy and eating, Knight said.
Pritts, a trauma surgeon at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, said it remained too soon Monday to say what caused Hamlin’s cardiac arrest. It also remained too soon to say whether he would be able to return to professional football.
“We’re really focused on his day-to-day recovery,” Knight said. “He still has a little bit of a ways to go in terms of his ongoing recovery. We’re thrilled to where he is today. He’s up, he’s walking around, he’s got an amazing, genuine sense of humor and his family is amazing and we’re happy he’s with them, but in terms of any kind of conjecture to his future ... that’s still significantly in the future.”
Pritts said Hamlin will likely need therapy and help from specialists as he continues his recovery. However, he added that “there’s no reason to believe that he won’t continue his path to recovery.”
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Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapses, receives CPR on field CINCINNATI, OHIO - JANUARY 02: Tre'Davious White #27 and Mitch Morse #60 of the Buffalo Bills react to teammate Damar Hamlin #3 collapsing after making a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first quarter at Paycor Stadium on January 02, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapses, receives CPR on field CINCINNATI, OHIO - JANUARY 02: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills reacts to teammate Damar Hamlin #3 collapsing after making a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first quarter at Paycor Stadium on January 02, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapses, receives CPR on field CINCINNATI, OHIO - JANUARY 02: Quarterback Joe Burrow #9 of the Cincinnati Bengals and Jordan Poyer #21 of the Buffalo Bills take a knee after Damar Hamlin #3 of the Bills collapsed following making a tackle during the first quarter at Paycor Stadium on January 02, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapses, receives CPR on field CINCINNATI, OHIO - JANUARY 02: Fans look on as the ambulance leaves carrying Damar Hamlin #3 of the Buffalo Bills after he collapsed after making a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first quarter at Paycor Stadium on January 02, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapses, receives CPR on field CINCINNATI, OHIO - JANUARY 02: Cam Lewis #39 and Siran Neal #33 of the Buffalo Bills react to teammate Damar Hamlin #3 collapsing after making a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first quarter at Paycor Stadium on January 02, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapses, receives CPR on field CINCINNATI, OHIO - JANUARY 02: Buffalo Bills players look on after teammate Damar Hamlin #3 collapsed on the field after making a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first quarter at Paycor Stadium on January 02, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapses CINCINNATI, OHIO - JANUARY 02: Quarterback Joe Burrow #9 of the Cincinnati Bengals and Jordan Poyer #21 of the Buffalo Bills take a knee after Damar Hamlin #3 of the Bills collapsed following making a tackle during the first quarter at Paycor Stadium on January 02, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapses, receives CPR on field CINCINNATI, OHIO - JANUARY 02: Shaq Lawson #90 of the Buffalo Bills reacts after teammate Damar Hamlin #3 was injured against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first quarter at Paycor Stadium on January 02, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapses, receives CPR on field CINCINNATI, OHIO - JANUARY 02: An announcement is displayed on the scoreboard as the game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills is postponed following the injury of Damar Hamlin #3 of the Buffalo Bills during the first quarter at Paycor Stadium on January 02, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapses, receives CPR on field CINCINNATI, OHIO - JANUARY 02: Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals players look on as Damar Hamlin #3 of the Buffalo Bills is treated by medical personnel after being injured during the first quarter at Paycor Stadium on January 02, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) (Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapses, receives CPR on field CINCINNATI, OHIO - JANUARY 02: Josh Allen #17 of the Buffalo Bills reacts after teammate Damar Hamlin #3 collapsed following a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first quarter at Paycor Stadium on January 02, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapses, receives CPR on field CINCINNATI, OHIO - JANUARY 02: Siran Neal #33 of the Buffalo Bills reacts after teammate Damar Hamlin #3 was injured against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first quarter at Paycor Stadium on January 02, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) (Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapses, receives CPR on field CINCINNATI, OHIO - JANUARY 02: Buffalo Bills players react after teammate Damar Hamlin #3 was injured against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first quarter at Paycor Stadium on January 02, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) (Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapses, receives CPR on field CINCINNATI, OHIO - JANUARY 02: Buffalo Bills players react after teammate Damar Hamlin #3 was injured against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first quarter at Paycor Stadium on January 02, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) (Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapses, receives CPR on field CINCINNATI, OHIO - JANUARY 02: Buffalo Bills players react after teammate Damar Hamlin #3 was injured against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first quarter at Paycor Stadium on January 02, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) (Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapses, receives CPR on field CINCINNATI, OHIO - JANUARY 02: An announcement is displayed on the scoreboard as the game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Buffalo Bills is postponed following the injury of Damar Hamlin #3 of the Buffalo Bills during the first quarter at Paycor Stadium on January 02, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images) (Dylan Buell/Getty Images)
Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapses, receives CPR on field CINCINNATI, OHIO - JANUARY 02: Buffalo Bills players huddle after teammate Damar Hamlin #3 collapsed following a tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals during the first quarter at Paycor Stadium on January 02, 2023 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Kirk Irwin/Getty Images) (Kirk Irwin/Getty Images)