NFL Player’s Heart Stops in Shocker During Bills-Bengals Game

24-year-old NFL star Damar Hamlin, who plays safety for the Buffalo Bills, suffered cardiac arrest during a football game between his team, the Buffalo Bills, and the Cincinnati Bengals.

He ended up collapsing on the pitch and getting rushed to hospital.

Heavily Sedated and Critical 

Hamlin suffered cardiac arrest during a tackle in which he collided with Bengals receiver Tee Higgins.

He was given CPR seconds after collapsing and later intubated by medics at the medical center of the University of Cincinnati.

Hours later, a family representative, Hamlin’s friend Jordon Rooney, revealed the player had woken up after several hours and was stabilized, but remained in a critical condition and heavily sedated.

Rooney said the NFL player’s family is very worried about him. Hamlin’s mother, Nina, was at his side while he was taken to be hospitalized, The Daily Mail reported.

The Buffalo Bills safety’s friend noted the family was highly “supportive” and trying to help Hamlin get through the horrifying ordeal. Rooney clarified his friend, Damar, was awake at the time he was rushed to the hospital before the doctors sedated him.

He called upon NFL fans and the public to give the Hamlin family a sufficient degree of privacy to allow them to overcome the player’s life-threatening situation. Rooney also promised updates as soon as those were available.

A group of some 100 football fans of both the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals gathered a block away from the emergency ward where the player was taken in a show of support, with some of them holding candles.

Apart from his NFL career, Damar Hamlin has also made headlines with the charity toy drives that he set up in order to collect money for children in his local community.

Players Praying He’d Pull Through

Tee Higgins, the Bengals receiver who collided with Hamlin, was among the thousands who spoke out with well wishes and prayers for the latter’s survival and recovery.

Higgins, in particular, wrote on Twitter he was praying for Hamlin to “pull through” and sent his thoughts and prayers to his family.

The clash that injured Hamlin, who is six feet tall and weighs 200 pounds, saw Higgins hit him in the chest with his right shoulder.

Hamlin then grabbed Higgins to drag him down and swiftly got back up. He then seemed to be fixing his face mask but, three seconds later, fell backward and remained motionless.

Medics treated the Buffalo Bills’ safety for 16 minutes before immobilizing and taking him off the pitch. Players from both sides surrounded him to shield him from public view while medics were cutting off his playing uniform.

Hamlin’s cardiac arrest had a profound, immediate effect on the other players, leading many to cry as they got “visibly stunned” by what had occurred.

“Please pray for our brother,” tweeted Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.

Hamlin’s family was at the stadium in Cincinnati, watching the game. They came down to the field before his mother, Nina, got in the ambulance to accompany him to the hospital.

After the incident with Damar Hamlin, the National Football League postponed the game.

This article appeared in Mainstpress and has been published here with permission.

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