Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is breathing on his own and able to talk after having his breathing tube removed, the team announced Friday — the latest step in his remarkable recovery in the four days since going into cardiac arrest and being resuscitated on the field during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals.
The 24-year-old Hamlin was still listed Thursday in critical condition in the intensive care unit of the University of Cincinnati Medical Center. Aside from being able to communicate, Hamlin was also been able to grip people’s hands.
“So we know that it’s not only that the lights are on. We know that he’s home. And it appears that all the cylinders are firing within his brain, which is greatly gratifying for all of us,” Dr. Timothy Pritts said. “He still has significant progress he needs to make, but this marks a really good turning point in his ongoing care.”
Dr. William Knight IV said doctors had not yet determined the cause of Hamlin’s cardiac arrest and that testing is ongoing.
It’s also too early to say whether Hamlin could return to football after undergoing rehabilitation, Knight said.
The developments came as the Bills returned to practice on Thursday for the first time since Hamlin collapsed when his heart stopped after making a tackle during the game’s first quarter.
Hamlin, a second-year player from the Pittsburgh area, spent the past two days sedated and listed in critical condition.
Pritts said in the conference call that neurological signs of improvement began Wednesday night as Hamlin gradually woke up, with the rest of his body healing.
Knight credited the quick medical response with saving Hamlin’s life.
He said a physician was within Hamlin’s side within a minute of him collapsing and recognized that the defensive back did not have a pulse. Knight said Hamlin required CPR and resuscitation on the field.
Over the past days, numerous players across the league — former teammates and those who didn’t know Hamlin until Monday — voiced their support, while saying they were shaken by what unfolded in front of a North American TV audience.
Hamlin was selected by Buffalo in the sixth round of the 2021 draft out of Pitt. He spent his rookie season limited to special teams roles, and took over the starting safety job in Week 3 in place of veteran Micah Hyde, who remains sidelined by a neck injury.
Fans, team owners and players — including Tom Brady and Russell Wilson — have made donations to Hamlin’s Chasing M’s Foundation, which had raised more than $7.4 million by Thursday afternoon.
