Doctors say Bills safety Damar Hamlin has made ‘substantial improvement’

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin has made “substantial improvement” in his recovery over the last 24 hours, doctors at University of Cincinnati Medical Center said Thursday afternoon.

“As of this morning, he is beginning to awaken, and it appears that his neurological function is intact,” UC Health physician Timothy Pritts told reporters. Pritts said Hamlin can move his hands and feet, and has been able to communicate in writing, but hasn’t been able to speak because he remains intubated.

“It’s not only that the lights are on. We know that he’s on and that appears that all cylinders are firing within his brain,” Pritts said.

Both Pritts and William Knight, a professor in the department of emergency medicine, heaped credit on the Bills’ medical staff for quickly recognizing how serious Hamlin’s injury was. Pritts said if Hamlin didn’t receive such good care less than a minute after his collapse, the outcome could have been much different.

“To paraphrase one of our health partners, when he asked, ‘Did we win?’ the answer is, ‘Yes, Damar, you won the game of life,’” Pritts said.

Hamlin, 24, remains in critical condition in intensive care. Knight said it’s too early to determine a cause for Hamlin’s cardiac arrest.

As for next steps, Pritts said they’d like to see Hamlin continue to improve and start breathing on his own. But past that, the doctors said they’re focused on the here and now.

“It’s entirely too early to project into the future,” Knight said.

Hamlin has been hospitalized since Monday after suffering cardiac arrest while making a tackle during the Bills Monday Night Football game against the Cincinnati Bengals. Caregivers administered CPR to Hamlin on the field before transporting him to the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, where he has remained since.

Hamlin needed to be resuscitated a second time at the hospital, doctors said. At one point, Hamlin was on a ventilator and lying on his stomach to help take the pressure off his lungs.

The NFL will not resume the Bills-Bengals game, which was postponed in the first quarter with the Bengals leading 7-3, the Associated Press reported. The NFL has yet to announce how it will determine playoff seeding and scheduling in the AFC.

The Bills are preparing for Sunday’s Week 18 matchup with the New England Patriots, which is scheduled to kick off at 1 p.m. Hamlin’s father, Mario Hamlin, addressed the Bills team on a Zoom call Wednesday to update them on his son’s progress, ESPN reported.

In a sign of overwhelming support for the young player, a dormant, two-year-old GoFundMe post launched by Hamlin has soared past $7 million in donations. The fundraiser, established initially as a toy drive in his hometown of McKees Rocks in suburban Pittsburgh, will now also benefit community initiatives led by Hamlin’s Chasing M’s foundation, in addition to “his current fight,” according to his family.

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