Damar Hamlin’s recovery is moving in “a positive direction” two days after Buffalo Bills security collapsed and she went into cardiac arrest during a game against Cincinnati, the player’s marketing representative said Wednesday.
“We are all still optimistic,” Jordon Rooney, a family spokesman who described himself as a good friend of Rooney, told The Associated Press by phone. He said he could not elaborate on Hamlin’s condition at his family’s request not to provide details.
The Bills said Wednesday that Hamlin remained hospitalized in critical condition but showed signs of improvement Tuesday and overnight. They said he was expected to remain in intensive care while his medical team continued to monitor and treat him.
Rooney said Hamlin’s family remains positive and encouraged by the outpouring of global support the Bills player has received since his heart stopped and he was resuscitated on the field before being loaded into an ambulance and transported to the Center. Physician from the University of Cincinnati.
“They’re elated right now,” Rooney said. “Damar is still his number one concern. But for them, they’re always looking for how they can turn a worrying situation into a good one. The recovery from this, for him and his family, will be amazing.”
Rooney’s update comes after Hamlin’s uncle, Dorrian Glenn, told numerous outlets on Tuesday night that there were some encouraging signs in his nephew’s progress, including doctors lowering the oxygen level he Hamlin needs 100 to 50 percent.
“He’s still sedated right now,” Glenn told CNN. “They just want him to have a better chance of recovering better. So they feel that if he’s sedated, his body can heal much faster than if they woke him up and possibly cause other complications.”
CLOCK | NFL player’s on-field collapse leaves fans and athletes in shock:
NFL player Damar Hamlin remains in critical condition after going into cardiac arrest during a game Monday night. Seeing him collapse on the field and be rushed away in an ambulance has shaken many and is renewing questions about the safety of the game.
Rooney wanted to clear up one thing Glenn said when he said there was a misunderstanding when the guy said Hamlin had to be resurrected twice. Rooney said that’s “not exactly true,” without elaborating.
The chilling scene of Hamlin’s collapse, which played out in front of an American television audience on ESPN Monday night football, has put the NFL on hold, with the pivotal game suspended indefinitely. The Kansas Chiefs (13-3) are battling the Bills (12-3) and Bengals (11-4) for the AFC’s top seed.
The Bills, who returned to Buffalo early Tuesday, have team meetings and a home run practice scheduled for Wednesday. They are expected to resume practice Thursday before their home game against the New England Patriots on Sunday.
Players and fans from across the NFL rallied in support of Hamlin, holding vigils in Cincinnati and outside Bills stadium. The impact of what happened also reverberated in Pittsburgh, where Hamlin, 24, grew up determined to give back to those in need.
Hamlin was hurt in the first quarter when he took a direct hit to the chest while making what appeared to be a routine tackle on Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. Hamlin got up briefly and adjusted his mask before collapsing backwards.
Hamlin is from McKees Rocks, outside Pittsburgh, and was selected by Buffalo in the sixth round of the 2021 draft out of Pitt. He spent his rookie season limited to special teams duties and took over as the starter in Week 3 in place of veteran Micah Hyde, who remains sidelined with a neck injury.
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