- Madeline Halpert
- BBC News, New York
image source, Getty Images
Damar Hamlin collapsed Monday at a football game.
American football star Damar Hamlin woke up Thursday after collapsing during a game on Monday and asked doctors who treated him at the hospital if his team won the game.
The Buffalo Bills player suffered a heart attack on the field during Monday night’s game at Ohio.
Doctors and their team say it has shown a “marked improvement” in the last 24 hours and that you are “neurologically intact”.
Hamlin has been in the intensive care unit since he was taken from the field.
He has been communicating with the doctors in writing after waking up.
One of Hamlin’s doctors, Timothy Pritts, said he had asked who won the game between the Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals for the National Football League (NFL) tournament.
“Damar, you won, you won the game of life,” the doctor replied.
Hamlin is still on a ventilator in the intensive care unit at the University of Cincinnati Medical Center.
image source, Getty Images
Hamlin, 24, went into cardiac arrest during the game after tackling Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins.
Earlier Thursday, treating doctors said he “demonstrated that he appears to be neurologically intact,” the Bills reported.
“His lungs continue to heal and he is making steady progress,” the team added. “We are grateful for the love and support we have received,” she noted.
Shortly before Hamlin’s team issued the final statement on Thursday, teammate Kaiir Elam tweeted: “Our lad is better, awake and showing more signs of improvement.”
“Keep sending prayers please,” he asked.
His agent, Ron Butler, confirmed to CNN that Hamlin was awake and surrounded by his family at the hospital.
Hamlin, 24, went into cardiac arrest during the game after tackling Cincinnati Bengals receiver Tee Higgins. He fell backwards to the ground after the crash.
He received more than 30 minutes of medical attention on the field, during which he was resuscitated once, according to Jordon Rooney, a friend of the player and a marketing agent.
Hamlin was drafted to the NFL in 2021 out of the University of Pittsburgh, where he played college football.
The NFL announced Thursday that it decided cancel permanently andthe game of the Bills against the Bengals which was interrupted by the incident.
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