Damar Hamlin’s Family Friend Shares Encouraging Update

While Damar Hamlin isn’t out of the woods yet after collapsing during a Monday Night Football tilt this week, a family spokesperson says he’s shown “promising signs” in his recovery.

Hamlin was still being treated in the intensive care unit at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center on Wednesday morning, less than two days since he went into cardiac arrest during the Buffalo Bills' game against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Jordon Rooney, a family friend, told ESPN that Hamlin is still sedated, but doctors saw promising readings overnight Tuesday that were “signs of progress.” Hamlin’s agent, Ron Butler, told the network on Tuesday night his client’s oxygen levels had improved. The Bills released a statement Wednesday afternoon confirming Hamlin remained in the ICU but said he is showing “signs of improvement.”

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The positive update is sure to reverberate around the country, as Monday’s shocking incident brought a pause to the sporting world. The Bills-Bengals game was suspended indefinitely, while countless athletes worldwide made statements in support of Hamlin.

Rooney said CPR was administered to Hamlin for “multiple minutes” after the 24-year-old took a hit to his chest while tackling Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. Hamlin received oxygen on the field and was taken away in an ambulance about 16 minutes after collapsing.

Hamlin’s father is adamant that any criticism of Higgins’ hit on his son is unwarranted and must stop, ESPN reported.

Exact details on what caused Hamlin’s collapse have not been released by the NFL or his family. Many medical experts have hypothesized that he suffered from “commotio cordis,” a rare condition that occurs when someone experiences chest trauma that causes additional waves of electricity to throw off a heart’s rhythm.

An article in the New England Journal of Medicine says that commotio cordis—Latin for agitation of the heart—is “usually, though not invariably, fatal.” Survival rates increase significantly for those who receive immediate treatment with CPR and an automated external defibrillator (AED), as Hamlin received Monday.

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Hamlin has not been responsive since he collapsed, but his family has remained positive as his condition improves. His uncle, Dorrian Glenn, said he can’t wait for Hamlin to wake up and see the outpouring of love he’s received.

“It’s tremendous to see all the love and support that my nephew has out here,” Glenn told the NFL Network. “A lot of people don’t get a chance to see how loved they are while they’re alive, so for him to have a situation where he could have been taken away, and he has a chance to come back and see all that love that he got, it’s truly an amazing thing.”

A GoFundMe set up by Hamlin in 2020—initially to raise funds for a daycare’s toy drive—has been flooded with donations that exceeded $6 million in total by Wednesday morning. The original goal was to raise just $2,500.

The fundraiser says that money donated to the fund will also be used in Hamlin’s “current battle” and the player’s other community initiatives.

“We can’t thank all of you enough,” the fundraiser says. “Your generosity and compassion mean the world to us.”

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