Monday night’s matchup between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals is one of the most anticipated NFL games of the season.
But halfway through the first quarter, football quickly fell into insignificance as events on the field took a tragic turn.
Bills safety Dumar Hamlin fell unconscious after a routine tackle on Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins.
As a horrified crowd watched, medical staff performed CPR for nine minutes before an ambulance arrived on the field and rushed Hamlin to a nearby hospital.
Things looked pretty grim for most of this week.
Reports from the hospital said Hamlin had not regained consciousness and was breathing with the help of a ventilator.
So it was a tremendous euphoria for the bill to announce some surprisingly good news today.
Not only has Hamlin regained consciousness, but he communicates in a manner that indicates that his neurological function has been restored to an extent that exceeds the doctors’ most optimistic expectations.
“It’s not just the lights on. We know he’s home. It seems like every cylinder is firing in his brain,” Dr. Timothy Prydz said Thursday afternoon. said at a press conference.
“The Bills training staff who were with him quickly realized that this was no ordinary injury and had a serious event on their hands and responded immediately, engaging emergency response teams in his care. I let you,” Pretz continued.
Pritts confirmed that this was the best possible result given the circumstances.
“Actually, this stuff worked out under very difficult circumstances. They did a great job. That’s why we’re here today,” he told reporters.
The medical staff in charge of Hamlin’s recovery also shared that Hamlin, 24, immediately wrote a message — he is still unable to communicate verbally due to his breathing apparatus — to the Monday night game. Ask who won.
“You won. You won the game of life,” replied one doctor.
Well, we can offer a trick answer to a guy who just got out of a coma and claim that the doctor has gotten a little prettier.
But after the work these men and women have done to get Hamlin back to health, I forgive them for their attempts at humor/philosophical depth/whatever it is.
(In reality, the game was suspended and neither team won or lost. The NFL has yet to announce how it will address the issue of league standings and playoff seeding.)
There is no doubt that the road to full recovery will be long and difficult for Damar.
But Hamlin has already made impressive progress, and his loved ones, teammates and fans have every reason to be optimistic.
Our thoughts and prayers are with Damar on this journey.
