Damar Hamlin Is Awake, Conscious and Has Even Been Holding Hands With His Family

After a frightening few days for Damar Hamlin and his family, the Buffalo Bills safety is finally awake after being sedated on a ventilator.

Hamlin, who suffered a cardiac arrest during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals is awake and conscious at the hospital after the world watched him collapse and be revived on field.

“It’s been a long and difficult road for the last three days he has been very sick and has made a fairly remarkable recovery and improvement,” explained virtually Dr. William Knight IV during a news conference.
Dr. William Knight IV

Hamlin’s family and the Buffalo Bills staff have informed Hamlin about what happened to him on field and so far, Hamlin has been able to shake his head and communicate writing brief notes.

Not to mention, Hamlin has even been to hold hands with the people who have been surrounding him with support according to doctors.

Although shocked he wasn’t conscious for two consecutive days, the first question he asked was “did we win?” and Dr. Timothy Pritts at UC Health responded with “yes, Damar, you won the game of life.”

While hospital staff are still trying to determine what caused Hamlin’s cardiac arrest according to Dr. Knight, Hamlin has been able to move his hands and feet.

The medical team who provided immediate emergency care have also been praised by physicians at the hospital for their contribution to saving Hamlin’s life.

Doctors have also mentioned to family members of Hamlin that his condition is moving in a “positive direction,” according to Jordon Ronney, Hamlin’s family spokesperson.

Jordon Rooney also explained to ABC News that while he could not specifically elaborate on what was meant by “positive direction”, doctors are noticing the progress they are looking for.

Currently Hamlin remains hospitalized and is still in critical condition in the ICU.

There has also been speculation that Hamlin may have suffered from Commotio Cordis, which is a rare condition that happens when the heart’s rhythm is disrupted from a hit in the chest that lands at a very specific moment in the heartbeat, explained Dr. Allen Sills.

While Dr. Sills has said that it is “certainly is possible” for Hamlin to have suffered from that condition, “there’s still a lot of investigation that needs to happen.”

Although according to Dr. Jim Ellis, the NFL’s director of emergency preparedness explained that Commotio Cordis is “almost a diagnosis of exclusion,” which in other words means that no other cause has been found and in some cases of cardiac arrest, it could go undiagnosed.

“The difficulty you have in this particular case, obviously a 24-year-old, very healthy, fit male, sometimes you just may not find the cause,” Dr. Ellis said to reporters during a press call. “There’s not always a pathway. You can’t get an MRI, a CT scan, there’s no blood test in particular that’s going to tell you exactly why they had that, certainly nothing for commotio cordis.”
Dr. Jim Ellis

Dr. Sills also added,

“I think the important lesson that we can all take away from this is really, for every sport at every level, for preparation for a sudden cardiac event,” including proper training and having automated external defibrillators available, noted Sills.
Dr. Allen Sills