Damar Hamlin had minutes if not seconds to live when he collapsed on the field in January after experiencing a sudden cardiac arrest. Thanks to the swift response of the Buffalo Bills training staff, Hamlin not only survived but has gone on to make a full recovery.
In July, the 25-year-old safety had the opportunity to honor the people who saved his life. Standing onstage at the ESPYs, Hamlin presented the Bills staff with the Pat Tillman Award for Service. Awarded annually since 2014, the award is named for the Arizona Cardinals linebacker who died in Afghanistan after joining the Army following the September 11 attacks.
Speaking on behalf of the staff, head trainer Nathan Breske thanked Hamlin for staying alive, saying that his recovery was the best outcome he and his colleagues could have imagined. Breske also took time to thank the myriad personnel involved in saving Hamlin’s life, from the doctors at the University of Cincinnati medical center where Hamlin was initially transported to the team’s equipment managers and security guards.
Hamlin, who narrated a video honoring the staff before presenting them with the award, was visibly emotional as he stood onstage. For the safety, it was another moment in his remarkable recovery: Hamlin was cleared by his doctors to resume playing football in April. In June, he participated in a full practice with his team.
Experts have pointed to the swift administration of CPR and the use of a defibrillator by the Bills staff as vital in saving Hamlin’s life. With studies suggesting that only about 10 percent of people survive a cardiac arrest when it occurs outside of a hospital, the American Heart Association has joined with Hamlin to raise awareness about the importance of knowing how to perform CPR and use defibrillators.
Fortunately for Hamlin, the Bills medical staff were already well trained in both. In his speech, Breske said that he and his colleagues were just doing their job but that they take “great pride” in being members of a profession who are in service to others.