Damar Hamlin transferred to Buffalo hospital a week after Buffalo Bills safety suffered on-field cardiac arrest in Cincinnati
Damar Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills safety who collapsed on the field after taking a hit against the Bengals, has been released from a Cincinnati hospital and is in Buffalo, the team announced Monday. Hamlin, who suffered cardiac arrest, had been in critical condition in the days following the incident.
The news was confirmed by his care team and by the Buffalo Bills on Twitter.
"We are thrilled and proud to share that Damar Hamlin has been released from the hospital and returned to Buffalo," said a statement attributed to University of Cincinnati Medical Center. "He is doing well and this is the next stage of his recovery."
Millions of football watchers were stunned when Hamlin, 24, fell to the ground after what appeared to be a routine tackle of Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins. CPR was performed on the field for nine minutes and Hamlin was resuscitated with a defibrillator before being transported to a nearby hospital. The game was postponed and later cancelled.
In the past week, Hamlin has made "remarkable" progress in his recovery: He is breathing on his own, able to write and speak, and has communicated with team members and posted on social media. He will continue his recovery at Buffalo General Hospital.
After he was released from the hospital, Hamlin tweeted that he was heading back to Buffalo with "a lot of love on (his) heart."
"Watching the world come together around me on Sunday was truly an amazing feeling," he wrote. "The same love you all have shown me is the same love that I plan to put back into the world n more. Bigger than football!"
Hamlin's injury led to an outpouring of support from the football world and beyond. The weekend after his injury, players and coaches from all 32 NFL teams wore "Love for Damar 3" T-shirts during warm-ups in a "league-wide show of support," said NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
The Bills are bound for the post-season playoffs. On Sunday, they won their first game since Hamlin's collapse and eliminated their division rival, the New England Patriots, from playoff contention.